< Back Democrats’ Worst Fear: Pro-Life Bill Attempts to Kill Roe By Madeline Wyatt October 31, 2021 When Texas’s Senate Bill 8 (SB8) took effect on September 1, known as the “Texas Heartbeat Act” under section one of the law, most people expected it to reach the Supreme Court for violating Roe v. Wade ’s precedent under which women are entitled to privacy when receiving abortions. It was the Democrats’ worst fears come true: Trump’s heirs on the Supreme Court could finally make good on his campaign promise to overturn the nation’s landmark ruling. A few days before the law was set to go into effect, it went to the Supreme Court in an emergency request to block the law until its constitutionality could be determined, but in a surprisingly convoluted and pedantic motion relying extensively upon the law’s more dubious provisions, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, declined to block its passage. Still, the Court did not rule on the law’s constitutionality— something John Roberts’s dissenting opinion made abundantly clear. The most odious provisions in SB8 were crafted with surgical precision meant to circumvent judicial review, which proved particularly ideal for judges who take an especially textualist approach to ignore the blatant unconstitutionality of SB8— this explains why a court imbued with Scalia apostles allowed the Texas law to proceed into effect. The majority opinion held that while the federal court is not endowed with the ability to block a law in question, it is allowed to block the enforcement of the law. SB8 is not technically enforced by state or local officials, rather it is enforced by deputizing all private citizens; in other words, private citizens are responsible for reporting and suing any persons who are thought to have had, given, or aided in abortions— meaning that patients, doctors, nurses, receptionists, and even Uber drivers can be sued under this law if an ordinary citizen believes an abortion took place. If the courts rule in favor of the private reporting citizen, the citizen is entitled to $10,000 by the state, creating a dystopian bounty-hunting system that insulates the Texas government from being held responsible for its law that it created like a game of legislative hot potato. The majority opinion, being the good and noble textualists they are, argued that because it is instead private citizens who are responsible for enforcing the law, the bill could not prohibit Texas from enforcing the law as it would not technically be Texas enforcing it. Such an argument is absurd, however: if the government shares the will of the people— a necessary reflection of its society— then the laws that are created by the government would be representative of the people, meaning the Supreme Court’s choice to enjoin a law by restricting government enforcement would also mean that it restricts its people; so, it does not matter who enforces the law, it’s only a matter that such an onerous law should exist— especially when the net result should be the same. After the Supreme Court declined to enjoin the law, Biden’s Department of Justice sued the State of Texas challenging the constitutionality of the law, arguing in two parts that it both violated Roe v. Wade ’s legal precedent and required proper judicial review of its dubious enforcement mechanisms. On October 6, Western Texas’s District Court enjoined the law as the judge ruled both that the law itself was unconstitutional and the enforcement mechanism was blatantly unconstitutional as it sought to avoid judicial review. No more than two days later, Texas’s appeal to the 5th Circuit Court was successful, reinstating SB8. The DOJ has not yet appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but is expected to do so within a few weeks. The Supreme Court could choose to decline to hear the constitutionality of the case, but it would be incredibly unlikely as it challenges Roe v Wade as well as the lack of precedent for the enforcement mechanism. SB8 may be the bill to finally kill Roe v. Wade , but its future is far from final. TX SB8 flies under the guise of modern progress for the rights and liberation of the unborn— a frontier of the American left’s immoral and profane agenda. But for the women who will most feel the impacts of this bill, it’s a matter of temporal whiplash as the rugged individualism that the lone star state has promoted since 1836 failed to disclose that only men were given the courtesy of wearing the lone star moniker. Because somehow, nearly 200 years later, the lone star’s liberation is still the woman’s condemnation, leaving us wondering if we ever knew the meaning of progress in the first place.

< Back 3 Ans Après le Meurtre de Mahsa Amini, un Bilan sur la Situation des Femmes en Iran Bronwen Sutcliffe September 30, 2025 Le 16 septembre 2025 marque le troisième anniversaire du décès de Mahsa Amini aux mains du régime iranien. La politique répressive envers les femmes perdure. Cependant, l’Iran a connu d'importants bouleversements à la suite de cet outrage, notamment portés par le mouvement international Femme, vie, liberté. Ces mobilisations ont-elles réellement amélioré la condition des femmes ? Trois ans après, faisons le point sur la société iranienne depuis le soulèvement Femme, vie, liberté. Le meurtre de Mahsa Zhina Amini En septembre 2022, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, jeune Iranienne kurde, se rend à Téhéran avec son frère. Elle est arrêtée sur place par la « police des mœurs » (gasht-e ershad), connue pour contrôler arbitrairement les femmes ne respectant pas les lois strictes sur le port du voile. Selon des témoins, les agents l’ont violemment poussée dans un fourgon et battue avant de l’emmener au centre de détention de Vozara. Les autorités ont déclaré qu’elle devrait y suivre une « séance éducative » pour corriger son comportement.Quelques heures après son arrestation, Mahsa Amini est victime de coups à la tête et perd connaissance. Après trois jours dans le coma, elle meurt, le 16 septembre 2022, à 22 ans.Le gouvernement parle de causes naturelles, mais la famille de Mahsa affirme qu’elle était en parfaite santé avant son arrestation. Suite à la mort de Mahsa Amini, trois mots—femme, vie, liberté—ont rythmé un mouvement de manifestations de masse. Son meurtre a choqué la communauté iranienne et internationale et a montré une réalité effarante : la répression systématique et la violence envers les femmes par le régime iranien. Des milliers de personnes se sont mobilisés dans les rues pour contester la loi rendant obligatoire le port du voile, dénoncer les abus de l'État et revendiquer les droits des femmes, le tout accompagné de gestes symboliques forts, tels que ôter le voile, le détruire, ou couper ses cheveux. Aujourd’hui, entre répression et résistance Après le mouvement Femme, vie, liberté , la repression s’intensifie. En 2023, la rédaction de VICE News, un média américain, a obtenu de rares visas pour se rendre en Iran et couvrir la situation des femmes. Dès leur arrivée, les journalistes ont été confrontés à une forte surveillance : leurs déplacements étaient limités à des lieux approuvés et ils ont été arrêtés à plusieurs reprises, leurs images étant parfois supprimées. L'équipe a toutefois pu monter un documentaire présentant des fragments de la réalité : étudiants contraints de signer des engagements pour respecter le code vestimentaire et ne pas assister aux manifestations, cafés et commerces fermés lorsqu’ils permettaient aux femmes d’entrer sans voile, quartiers centraux des manifestations étroitement surveillés et jeunes enfants formés à soutenir le régime à travers des organisations religieuses et sécuritaires. Une intervenante anonyme a même révélé que la police lui avait tiré dessus avec des balles en caoutchouc lorsqu’elle était au parc avec ses amis. S’entretenant avec la seule femme du gouvernement iranien, celle-ci a répeté les revendications du gouvernement, affirmant que Mahsa Amini n’avait pas été tuée et que le gouvernement est plus démocratique que dans d’autres pays. Selon elle, le gouvernement considère le hijab comme un moyen de protéger les femmes et affirme que si, un jour, il estime que ces lois leur nuisent, il les supprimera. Des propos nettement trompeurs. Les jeunes interviewés dans le documentaire ont été nombreux à demander l'anonymat. La peur est palpable. Un article publié dans la revue La Pensée écologique en 2023 décrit comment de nombreux Iraniens et Iraniennes vivent depuis leur plus jeune âge dans une « schizophrénie généralisée ». Ils doivent adopter des comportements contradictoires selon le contexte—à la maison, à l'école ou dans l’espace public, naviguant entre les exigences du régime et leur vie privée. La politique répressive du gouvernement, mêlée à la corruption, à l'hypocrisie, aux mensonges et aux détournements de fonds, exerce une pression quotidienne. C’est à travers de gestes simples mais profondément courageux que, malgré la répression, les femmes s’offrent des gouttes de liberté et contribuent à transformer progressivement la culture de l’espace public : elles se rendent à leur école ou sur leur lieu de travail sans porter le voile obligatoire et roulent à vélo ou même à moto (ce qui est interdit aux femmes). Selon Sedigheh Vasmaghi, théologienne et universitaire qui a elle-même été arrêtée pour être sans voile, « le système politique [iranien] ne peut plus remonter le temps ». Elle précise que L’État, confronté à d'énormes problèmes de politique intérieure et étrangère, n’est plus en mesure de contrôler les femmes à travers le pays, en particulier les adolescentes et les jeunes femmes, qui ne veulent plus porter de voile. De nombreux témoignages suggèrent que les policiers détournent le regard des femmes sans voile, soit par épuisement, soit par crainte d’attirer davantage de mauvaise presse, mais certainement pas par volonté de remettre en cause le régime en leur accordant plus de liberté. En décembre 2024, le Conseil national de sécurité d’Iran a présenté un projet de loi draconien sur le hijab, prévoyant de lourdes amendes, jusqu'à 15 ans de prison pour les récidivistes ainsi que l'obligation pour les commerces de signaler des contrevenants. Face à des protestations publiques et aux objections des organismes de surveillance internationaux comme Amnesty, ce projet a été suspendu . Toutefois, la suspension de la loi ne reflète pas forcément une libéralisation des conditions des femmes, plutôt une continuation du statu quo qui pourrait s’aggraver à tout moment. Toutefois, la surveillance des femmes se poursuit à travers des applications de signalement, la reconnaissance faciale, la surveillance aérienne et le contrôle des réseaux sociaux, créant une pression constante. Même si de nombreuses femmes non-voilées échappent à des sanctions directes, les militantes féministes, journalistes et femmes dans l’espace public—comme Vida Rabbani, Saeedeh Shafiei, Niloofar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohamaddi ou Narges Mohammadi—vivent en péril, emprisonnés ou poursuivis pour des accusations comme « propagande contre l'État » ou « rassemblement contre la sécurité nationale », en représailles à leur travail et à leur engagement public. Un futur incertain L’afflux de femmes revendiquant leur liberté dans l’espace public signale une transformation graduelle de la société vers l’émancipation des femmes. Toutefois, une amélioration réelle du statut des femmes ne pourra se faire sans un changement du gouvernement et la réforme, voire la sécularisation, du code civil, qui, entre autres, d ispose que le mari détient l'autorité exclusive au sein du foyer, que l'épouse a un devoir de soumission sexuelle (tamkin) et qu’il peut contrôler son lieu de résidence ainsi que l’exercice d’une profession. Ces lois institutionnalisent une réalité profondément sexiste ne pouvant être déconstruite sans de profonds changements institutionnels. Ce n’est pas pour minimser les contributions des manifestants que mon article a mis un accent sur la répression par l’État ; les Iraniennes et Iraniens qui ont soutenu le mouvement Femme, vie, liberté ont eu un impact enorme, étendant la cause iranienne à l’échelle mondiale et exerçant une pression sur le gouvernement iranien. De nombreuses femmes ont pu en profiter pour jouir, quoique illicitement, de davantage de libertés dans leur vie quotidienne. Toutefois, le comportement oscillant du régime iranien pour appliquer des lois répressives révèle un désir profond de maintenir son pouvoir et sa légitimité en se pliant le moins possible à la pression populairee. Après le conflit israélo-iranien de juin 2025, le débat sur la stabilité du régime islamique a été relancé. Étant donné sa longévité, certains le qualifient d’un retour du religieux, mais des enquêtes non-gouvernementaux du GAMAAN (Groupe d’analyse et de mesure des attitudes en Iran) révèlent une sécularisation croissante et un large désir de changement au sein de la majorité de la société iranienne. Si les trois ans suivant le meutre de Mahsa Amini n’ont pas mené à une révolution, ils ont porté la situation à un point de rupture imminent. Photo Source: Loco Steve, Flickr

< Back Une France qui s’assèche, des scientifiques qui alertent, un gouvernement qui se dépêche By Salomé Greffier March 31, 2023 « Sens-tu l’air du désert/ Te dessécher la peau/ Comme si l’on avait/ Laissé le four ouvert/ Et ce souffle brûlant/ Nous ôter le repos/ Pour venir nous donner/ Un avant-goût d’enfer ? » Laurence Hérault s’exprime en ces mots afin de décrire un phénomène observé à grande échelle par les sociétés depuis une cinquantaine d’années déjà : la sécheresse. Tandis que les populations subissent des épisodes sans qu’aucune goutte de pluie ne tombe du ciel, les scientifiques parlent d’avancée du désert et les pouvoirs publics tentent de proposer des alternatives économiques et sociales moins énergivores en eau. La sécheresse, fait désormais l’objet d’observations rigoureuses et constitue un enjeu majeur pour les États. En outre, le dernier rapport du GIEC publié en 2022 tire la sonnette d’alarme quant à la fréquence des périodes de sécheresse à travers le monde dans les années à venir. Ces dernières devraient devenir plus régulières, voire permanentes, impliquant une remise en question de la gestion de l’eau à l’échelle individuelle mais aussi collective, au regard des comportements agricoles principalement. Le groupe d’experts intergouvernemental place l’activité humaine comme responsable de ces phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes. Par conséquent, seule une adaptation anthropique face à cet enjeu climatique (mais aussi socio-économique, politique et qui atteint plus généralement la santé publique) permettrait d’inverser, ou du moins de ralentir, le processus en cours. Pour le moment, les baromètres français affichent un record historique inquiétant. En effet, à la date du 21 février 2023, les météorologues cochent la case d’un 31ème jour sans pluie sur le sol de l’hexagone. Or, en plein milieu de l’hiver, l’eau des pluies devrait remplir les nappes phréatiques afin de répondre aux besoins des mois d’été. Février se termine donc avec un déficit de précipitations de 75 %. En d’autres termes, la situation actuelle est celle que l’on chiffre, en temps normal, autour de la mi-avril voire de mai. Les réserves souterraines en eau se trouvent par conséquent à des niveaux particulièrement bas alors que la saison estivale de 2022 avait déjà puisé plus d’or bleu que la nature pouvait apporter. Dans le même temps, il ne faut pas omettre les inégalités territoriales en matière d’exposition à la sécheresse. Ainsi, les scientifiques décrivent un phénomène plus fort dans des régions comme l’Occitanie, la région PACA ou encore la Corse. De manière plus générale, une analyse du quotidien La Tribune de Genève avance qu' en temps normal, Nice enregistre plus de 800 mm de pluie par an. Entre février 2022 et la première quinzaine de février 2023, seuls 285 mm de précipitations se sont abattus sur la ville, soit 500 bons millimètres de moins que d’ordinaire !” Une situation qui devrait nous préoccuper en tant que (nouveaux) habitants de la région en perspective du retour de l’été. Ce constat posé par la communauté scientifique et l’observation empirique obligent les pouvoirs publics français à agir en prévention des épisodes de sécheresse. Ainsi, lors du Salon de l’agriculture 2023 le président de la République, Emmanuel Macron, s’exprime en ces termes « On sait qu’on sera confronté à des problèmes de raréfaction d’eau : plutôt que de s’organiser sous la contrainte, on doit planifier tout ça ». Un appel à la sobriété soutenu par son ministre de la Transition écologique, Christophe Béchu. Ce dernier a demandé aux préfets des sept grands bassins du territoire, le 27 février dernier, d’anticiper les pénuries et de contraindre dès à présent les particuliers et entreprises à travers des arrêtés. Le gouvernement lance alors un « plan sécheresse » pour se préparer aux difficultés à venir. Ce projet public a tout d’abord pour vocation d’adapter l’agriculture. En effet, si le chef de l’État choisit un moment comme le Salon de l’agriculture pour exprimer ses inquiétudes, c’est avant tout pour toucher une frange de la population directement concernée par la sécheresse. L’agriculture représente en France 45 % de la consommation d’eau, chiffre qui s’élève jusqu’à 80 % au cœur de l’été. Celle-ci repose sur un modèle d’irrigation trop consommateur par rapport aux ressources disponibles. Par conséquent, il est demandé aux agriculteurs d’employer la méthode du goutte à goutte ou de se procurer des outils optimisant l’usage de l’eau. Néanmoins, la mise en place de ces moyens revêt un coût économique parfois trop important pour les exploitants qui doivent en priorité répondre à des demandes de rendements et générer des bénéfices pour maintenir leurs entreprises. L’État, pour pallier à ces inégalités, a débloqué des fonds à hauteur de 20 millions d’euros pour la « protection contre la sécheresse » à destination de toutes les exploitations en espérant que ce budget soit utilisé pour lutter contre les aléas climatiques et non à des fins économiques. De plus, l’idée d’installer des compteurs capables de recenser la consommation en eau des agriculteurs est envisagée par les pouvoirs publics de la métropole. Le « plan sécheresse » se déploie également en intervenant sur les failles du réseau d’eau. Ancien, sous dimensionné et parfois mal entretenu, le système d’alimentation se doit d’être rénové pour limiter les fuites en eau potable. Chaque année, c’est en effet 20 % en moyenne d’eau potable qui s’échappent des tuyaux à cause de l’obsolescence du réseau. Ensuite, l’État a pour objectif d’accélérer le déploiement de la réutilisation des eaux usées traitées. En bout de classement européen, la France recycle seulement 1 % de ses eaux à l’heure actuelle notamment à cause d’une réglementation sanitaire stricte en vigueur. On cherche dès lors à remplacer l’eau potable nécessaire au fonctionnement et à l’entretien des stations d’épuration par de l’eau recyclée et étendre progressivement cette pratique à des usages industriels et agricoles. Enfin, la conscience écologique mariée à des intérêts socio-économiques mobilise de plus en plus les citoyens. Les Français semblent prêter davantage attention à leur consommation d’eau et soutiennent des projets tels que l’utilisation de l’eau recyclée ou de compteurs « intelligents ». La tendance à la sobriété individuelle apparaît nécessaire pour les spécialistes mais insuffisante. L’appel des experts insiste davantage sur un changement collectif des usages de l’eau et des mentalités à l’échelle globale. Il n’en demeure pas moins que le levier de l’action individuelle est une goutte d’eau essentielle à, espérons-le, un recul du désert dans les prochaines années.

< Back Can We Cope with COP? Maia Zasler January 31, 2025 My aunt handed me a rectangle wrapped in dreidel-adorned paper. I opened my Hanukkah gift: a teal notebook from the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan. She let out a laugh as I processed the gift in front of me. “Even the swag wasn’t sustainable!” Climate change is arguably the most substantial issue of our time. Transcending borders, unbothered by race and religion, the often catastrophic impacts of detrimental anthropogenic activities affect us all. We need no more reminders after this first month of 2025, from the destructive Palisades fires, tearing through 23,700 acres in California during the state’s historically wettest month to the news of Hong Kong breaking 35 temperature records—recording its hottest year since 1884. 2024 marked the “decade of deathly heat;” “once-in-a-generation” storms occur once a year, blizzards reach the southern points of the U.S., and other climate-related disasters destroy food supply chains. A global issue necessitates global solutions. Theoretically, COP provides a forum for some of the brightest diplomats, world leaders, climate negotiators, and activist groups to come together and formulate a way forward, making concessions to mitigate a devolving climate crisis and plan for future problems. The first COP was held in Berlin, Germany in 1995; under a framework of international cooperation, with various required reduction targets for “developed country Parties,” COP stands as the singular format for climate negotiations in the global space. But it’s not enough anymore—if it ever was in the first place. From 11 to 24 November, COP29-goers engaged in a series of lackluster strategy drafts, missing necessary benchmarks for CO2 reductions and commitments to climate finance. A London School of Economics study estimated that 6.5 trillion USD would be needed on average per year by 2030 to meet climate targets in advanced economies, China, and emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) other than China. The G77 bloc—developing countries plus China— demanded 1.3 trillion USD by 2035 from historic emitters such as the United States and European Union countries. Another clear and worrying misstep was a missing follow-up to COP28’s declaration of a determined “ transition away ” from fossil fuels. No concrete decisions were made in Baku, largely in part of Saudi Arabia’s refusal to “accept any text that targets any specific sectors, including fossil fuel.” Was COP29 doomed from the start? Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev told the UN climate conference that oil and gas are a “gift of God.” His father (and the former President of the Republic of Azerbaijan), Heydar Aliyev, phrased the country’s vision for its natural resources years ago: “Oil is the greatest wealth of Azerbaijan and belongs to the people, and not just to the current generation, but also the generations to come.” Azerbaijan was created in the wake of political and economic disarray, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991; Azeris needed a long-term, national development plan to turn their resources into a means of profit. For Azerbaijan, these resources are oil and natural gas, and Azeri leadership continues to expand these sectors. The fact that the COP presidency was secured by a country confident in expanding its fossil fuel market speaks to just part of the problem. Of course, no Azeri official would admit to a potential conflict of interest. As reported by the BBC, President Aliyev said Azerbaijan had been subject to "slander and blackmail" ahead of COP29. According to Aliyev, a “Western fake news media” campaign had been waged in advance of conference proceedings. But the Baku leadership was tenuous at best. The chairman of the conference, Samir Nuriyev , was also the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources and a former oil executive for Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and gas company, Socar. On the first day of the conference, Baku’s leadership did push forward and closed an issue that had previously been at a stalemate: operationalizing carbon markets. Parties could make the (hasty) choice of either accepting or rejecting a framework for country-to-country carbon trading and crediting mechanism—the opening of a carbon market , finalizing the last remaining component of the Paris Agreement, which was drafted a decade ago. Baku’s leadership was not as heavy-handed with mobilizing recovery funds for climate-related disasters. The UN Adaptation Fund, “a two-decade cornerstone of resilience-building against extreme weather and rising seas,” secured just 61 million USD against its 300 million USD annual target. And, as previously stated, the provisions of curbing future fossil fuel production went unaddressed. However, it would be foolish to divert all blame for conference shortcomings to one Party, even if that Party was the esteemed host. Azerbaijan contributes only 0.15% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, the U.S., which has added the most CO2 into the atmosphere since the inception of the Industrial Revolution, and is often perceived (and portrays itself as) the “ world’s police ,” is likely to abandon future climate talks (follow-ups to the decisions pushed off at COP29) with the next Trump administration—one of Trump’s first actions this term was to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. China, whose production operations and general fossil fuel-centric activities account for 35% of the world’s carbon emissions, was expected to step-up at this last conference. Another global superpower, attention has shifted to China as the “natural successor” to spearheading climate adaptation and mitigation. Yet China was “ largely silent ” over the course of the two-week conference. There is much to do at COP30, to be held in Belém, Brazil in November this year. Aggressive climate action is required to turn back the already surpassed 1.5-degree Celsius warming limit. Each of the past 10 years (2015–2024) was one of the 10 warmest years on record, and 2024 was the first year to go beyond 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Dancing around the issue, pivoting focus to climate financing and “ambitious” goals for a green energy transition—although both important—cannot erase the fact that the continued burning and reliance on fossil fuels will bring about an infernal end. We can keep coping for now, putting off somewhat painful choices and making difficult concessions. We could wait to see how long nations—that should have learned from environmentally costly development—will avoid leading by a better example, using their resources to aid so-called “developing” countries reach their goals in a greener way. But I’ve never liked when things are done at the last minute. You never know when you just might run out of time to get a job done. Maybe I’ll jot that down in my new notebook. Photo credits: Wikimedia

< Back Trump and Republicans Win 2024 U.S. Elections Pracheth Sanka November 30, 2024 He’s done it. Donald Trump has won the 2024 Presidential Election, ascending, once again, to the coveted office at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. He has achieved a feat not seen in over one hundred years, joining Grover Cleveland as the only two presidents to serve non-consecutive terms. He also became the first Republican presidential candidate to gain a majority of the voter share since George W. Bush in 2004, breaking a four-election-long streak of Democratic dominance in the popular vote. His shocking success arrived following several Election Eve predictions for a Vice President Kamala Harris victory. While many outlets stated the race was “too close to call,” notable pollsters and forecasters painted more optimistic pictures of Harris’ hopes. Ann Selzer’s reputedly reliable Iowa poll indicated a silent majority of democrat support in both conservative and swing states, and Allan Lichtman’s “Keys to the White House” predicted an incumbent party win this electoral cycle. Both The Economist and opinion poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight gave Harris a lead in simulated estimations, albeit with extremely tight results. Despite these grim projections for Trump, he had an outrageously strong showing, winning all seven battleground states en route to gaining 312 electoral college votes and more than 75 million votes. The White House was not the only favorable outcome for Republicans, as they gained control of the Senate, retained their narrow majority in the House of Representatives and maintained their majority of Governors nationwide, winning seven out of the ten gubernatorial contests. They won high-profile Senate races, namely in Texas, where the infamous incumbent Senator Ted Cruz won decisively against the underdog U.S. representative Colin Allred. In Montana, political newcomer Tim Sheehy prevailed against the long-time incumbent, the moderate Jon Tester. Both of these races were described as tight and dead heats in the lead-up to November 5th. Still, decisive Republican victories indicate the prevalent and enduring conservative ideals among the progressive facades. President-elect Trump will now benefit from a perfect Republican trifecta, which entails a conservative control of all three branches of government. In the first two years of his initial term, he was gifted Republican command of the Senate and House of Representatives but battled against a divided Supreme Court. But now, with a 6-3 right-wing majority, Trump has the legal and political framework to enact his Agenda 47, or perhaps the more controversial Project 2025. He’s also been busy building a czar-studded and loyalist cabinet to reign in the executive branch. There have been some notable picks among the bunch, such as Florida Senator and foreign policy hardliner Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security. Incoming Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, a subtle and often off-stage figure, will head Trump’s advisory team. Rising the ranks as an election strategist, “The Ice Maiden,” as Trump has affectionately anointed her, has become a close right-hand woman on the campaign trail, a quiet character who brings order and competence to an otherwise chaotic campaign trail. Further, Trump is not scared to appoint those new to government. His expected appointee for the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth , is a Fox News correspondent who has never worked in the Department of Defense and whose closest experience is being an Army Veteran. To streamline and economize government operations, Trump has picked two leading campaign partners to head the new Department of Government Efficiency: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. For Musk, the CEO of X and the world’s wealthiest person, this would be the first public position he’s held, and his contracts with the Federal government have raised alarms of a possible conflict of interest. Likewise, Ramaswamy’s closest call to office came with his 2024 Presidential campaign, a role he was ready to take on after being a career biotech entrepreneur and near billionaire. These appointees highlight Trump’s vision for a devoted and dependable executive branch. His cabinet and advisory committee will be composed of people who won’t tell him no, an essential element in achieving his goals in the next four years. This means the “ Dictator on Day One ” can quickly enact some of his most crucial policy proposals. Expect to see hefty tariffs levied —especially against Chinese imports—and a push toward a more protectionist approach to trade. Despite fears of large migrant detention centers and promises of a mass deportation mission, Trump will much more realistically use executive action to halt catch-and-release policy and restore his 2019 “Remain in Mexico” practice to reign in the crisis in the United States’ southern border. Also, look for Trump to use his executive power to majorly cut down the size of the federal bureaucracy, adding party adherents to the administrative state, and to pardon many of those convicted for their actions of storming the Capitol on January 6th, 2021, another show of affection to his loyalists and fanatics in his quest for a fully conservative government. Though he needs congressional support for certain legislative measures, Americans should predict a continuation and expansion of his 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and more than likely see a steep decline in aid to Ukraine and an increase to Israel, which comes along with promises to end both conflicts as soon as possible. With the control of the Senate and House, expect a slew of conservative bills to be passed. Republicans have two years before the 2026 midterm elections to enact a hardline, right-wing agenda before their bicameral majority becomes jeopardized. Though the future looks bleak for many Democrat and left-leaning voters, this election cycle offered some spots of hope. In Arizona, far-right MAGA devotee Kari Lake was defeated by Ruben Gallego, adding to a set of liberal policy-makers and executives who hold statewide office. Despite Trump carrying the state by 3 points, North Carolina saw Democrat wins in its high executive offices. Established Democrats Josh Stein, Rachel Hunt, and Jeff Jackson became the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General respectively, sweeping the top three elected offices in the state. In the State House of Representatives, Democratic wins can help break the years-long Republican supermajority, allowing Stein to effectively use his veto power to curb conservative policy. Out of the ten states that left abortion measures to public referenda, seven codified or strengthened protections in their state’s constitution. Only Florida, which failed to reach the sixty percent threshold needed, and hyper-conservative Nebraska and South Dakota were unsuccessful in the effort to enshrine and protect abortion rights. Though eclipsed by the result of the Presidential election, these small victories provide optimistic outlooks for Midterm elections and individual state policy for the near future. But in the end, Trump won. Republicans won. Handily, America’s left-wing lost, and for at least two years, conservatives will have a straightforward path to achieving their ideals. This will undoubtedly manifest itself in a Reagan-esque, populist call back to a time of American “greatness,” with streaks of protectionism and nationalism, a full fall into Trumpism by the Republican right. While it is possible to gauge some of the precise ways this will come about, with near-guarantees of tax cuts and Trump loyalist appointees, the future does seem fairly uncertain, especially with some small Democratic shifts occurring across the country. What is certain, though, is that come January 20th, President-elect Donald Trump will take office, ushering in a new era of his dominance in American politics.

< Back La COP 28: pourquoi Dubaï? By Calista Cellerier January 31, 2024 La COP28 s’est déroulée aux Emirats Arabes Unis (EAU) en novembre dernier. Elle promettait une approche globale et détaillée des futures actions pour le climat, réunissant les pays du monde entier dans le combat contre le réchauffement climatique. Pourtant, une fois de plus depuis la Coupe du Monde au Qatar, il semblerait que les pays du Moyen Orient soient au cœur des débats critiques environnementaux, politiques et sociaux. Alors, qu’est-ce que la COP28 aux EAU, et pourquoi tant de scandales? Pour commencer, qu’est-ce qu’une COP? COP pour Conference of the Parties , il s’agit d’un rassemblement annuel à l'échelle gouvernementale, réunissant de nombreux pays dans l’objectif de répondre à la crise climatique et de trouver des solutions et plans d’action contre le réchauffement climatique. La COP28 a pour but, comme les autres, d'adresser la crise climatique. Elle se déroulait entre le 30 novembre et le 13 décembre 2023 sur l’ancien site de l’Expo 2020 à Dubaï. Parmi de nombreux consensus, les pays se mettent d’accord qu’il nous faut transitionner au-delà des énergies fossiles, de manière équitable et organisée. Il est attendu des pays les plus développés de transitionner vers l'énergie verte plus vite que les pays en développement. Cette COP se concentrait aussi sur le financement climatique et l'inclusivité de tous les pays dans les accords et actions. En revanche, pas d’obligation d’agir ni de plan chronologique proposé. Selon les Nations Unies, la COP28 était une COP très importante, car non seulement elle devait mettre les pays d’accord sur le plan d’action, mais aussi, pour la première fois, comment le mettre en œuvre. C'était un premier bilan mondial, décidant de ce qu’il nous reste à faire et guidant les pays dans les méthodes et technologies nécessaires pour accélérer les choses. Pourtant, les critiques fusent. Défenseurs de l'environnement, journaux et médias reconnus, tous s’accordent à dire que la décision des Nations Unis de placer la COP28 aux des Emirats est une erreur compte tenu de l’empreinte écologique monstrueuse du pays. Mais le problème ne s'arrête pas là, car il semble que le choix du président de la COP28, fait par le gouvernement Émirati, ne fasse pas l'unanimité internationale. En effet, la nomination du Dr. Sultan Al Jaber a la présidence de cette conférence rencontre de l’opposition car il est aussi l'exécutif en chef de la 12eme plus grande compagnie de pétrole au monde, la Abu Dhabi National Oil Company , ou Adnoc. De plus, des documents secrets publiés sur de nombreux médias comme la CNN affirment que Al Jaber prévoit de nouveaux contrats avec d’autres acteurs politiques pour augmenter et distribuer plus de pétrole. Quel paradoxe donc, que le président de Adnoc soit aussi celui de la COP28. Ainsi les théories du complots émergent quant aux véritables intentions de Al Jaber. Bien qu’il nie ces allégations, le Guardian affirme avoir découvert des échanges par email affirmant ces dernières, soulignant le manque de responsabilité et de jugement de la part des Nations Unis et du gouvernement Émirati. La COP28 est qualifiée de “scandale” par Manon Aubry, politicienne française, ou encore de “ridicule” par Greta Thunberg, jeune activiste suédoise déjà très reconnue mondialement. Il n’est un secret pour personne qu’une partie du business des Emirats est basée sur le commerce du pétrole. Les EAU se classent 8eme dans le monde en termes de production et 24eme en termes de consommation. La production et consommation de pétrole ne cesse de grandir année après année, faisant des Emirats l’un des pays les plus polluants du monde. En effet, selon le site Our World in Data , ils réunissaient 0,66% des émissions globales de CO2 en 2022, un record dans l’histoire des Emirats. Selon les dernières statistiques de la Banque mondiale, les expositions à la pollution sont 8 fois plus élevées dans le pays que ce qui est considéré comme sain pour la santé par l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS). Les EAU font face à de nombreuses critiques quant au recyclage de l’eau, au gaspillage de nourriture et aux effets néfastes de l'activité humaine sur l'environnement, comme la construction d'îles artificielles. Les conséquences sont importantes : augmentation de la salinité de l’eau, destruction des habitats naturels et immense contribution du pays au réchauffement climatique. Mais les Emirats sont-ils vraiment une cause perdue en matière de changement vers une société plus eco-friendly ? S’il est vrai que les Emirats sont l’un des pays les plus pollueurs au monde, il ne faut pas ignorer les récents efforts mis en place pour améliorer cette image. Les EAU sont le premier pays du Golfe à avoir annoncé vouloir atteindre la neutralité carbone d’ici 2050. Le défi s’annonce de taille, mais l'idée est là, ainsi que les actions. En 2023, les EAU se plaçaient seconds dans la consommation mondiale d'énergie solaire, derrière l’Australie. A Dubaï, le parc solaire de Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum est déjà en opération et continue de se développer, dans l’espoir d’atteindre une capacite totale de 5 giga watts, pouvant ainsi réduire la consommation de CO2 de 6,5 millions de tonne par an. Une autre initiative, illustrant cette volonté de tourner au vert, se trouve être le développement de Masdar City, un quartier 100% eco-friendly à Abu Dhabi. Développé en partie par l’entreprise Masdar , dont le président n’est nul autre que Sultan Al Jaber, Masdar City offre une architecture désignée spécialement pour économiser l’eau et l'énergie, comme un surélèvement des quartiers pour éviter que l’air chaud du désert ne réchauffe la cité. Recyclage de l’eau, climatisation naturelle et utilisation d'énergies renouvelables. Seul problème, Masdar City n’est pas très peuplée, suscitant des questions quant à l'efficacité de l'émergence soudaine de nouvelles villes, ce qui pousse les villes déjà construites et connues, comme Dubaï, à se développer de la même manière. Le gouvernement Émirati annonce continuer de travailler avec ses entreprises d'énergie, dont Adnoc, pour continuer sur cette lancée et transformer sa consommation d'énergie. Alors, la COP28 pourrait bien être un moyen de se débarrasser de cette étiquette. Aujourd'hui, le cheikh des Emirats Arabes Unis, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, s’engage pour un futur plus vert, et déjà l'Émirat de Dubaï ne repose plus son économie sur le pétrole, mais bien sur le tourisme et les investissements dans les secteurs du luxe, de la finance et de l’immobilier. La même affirmation est vraie pour les autres émirats des EAU, car le pétrole et les énergies fossiles ne sont plus la base principale de l'économie du pays. La décision de confier la COP28 à Dubaï n’est donc pas anodine. S’il est évident que le pays ne renoncera pas aux productions et exportations de pétrole d’ici peu, Al Jaber semblait être le parfait candidat pour la COP28. Habitué des discussions sur le climat, il est surtout le visage du développement vers les énergies renouvelables des EAU, avec des projets tels que Masdar City. Al Jaber affirme qu’il souhaite entreprendre une transition graduelle mais efficace sur le long terme, avec une approche balancée entre répondre à la demande mondiale en énergie et transitionner de manière adaptée à tous les pays. Lors d’une conférence pétrolière annuelle en 2021, il déclare: "Oui, les énergies renouvelables se développent rapidement. Mais le gaz et le pétrole restent les plus grandes énergies du mix énergétique et le seront pendant des décennies. Le futur arrive, mais il n’est pas encore là. On ne peut pas tout simplement débrancher le système d’aujourd’hui". Si Al Jaber affirme pouvoir faire de la COP28 une COP historique, réunissant tous les pays du monde, les populations indigènes et les industries d'énergies fossiles et renouvelables dans le combat contre le réchauffement climatique, reste à voir s’il y arrivera, et dans le temps limite que nous avons pour sauver notre planète.

< Back President Macron Visits Israel and the West Bank in Diplomatic Balancing Act By Peyton Dashiell November 30, 2023 On Oct. 24, French President Emmanuel Macron embarked on a visit to Israel after over two weeks of war in Gaza spurred by the deadly Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. While derided by some critics as belated and insufficient, his trip included an ambitious range of diplomatic objectives. He began the visit by meeting with the families of French victims and hostages of the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel, during which over 1,200 people were killed and around 240 taken hostage by Hamas. At least 30 French nationals were killed and nine are currently missing or being held in captivity in Gaza. 21-year-old Mia Schem, who appeared in a hostage video released by Hamas on Oct. 17, holds dual French-Israeli citizenship. Macron then engaged in a series of meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, minister without portfolio Benny Gantz, and opposition leader Yair Lapid. Above all, he expressed solidarity with Israel's fight against Hamas: "I want you to be sure that you are not left alone in this war against terrorism." He evoked France’s recent history of terrorist attacks in the 2010s, declaring terrorism as the common enemy between both Israel and France and stating that the fight against Hamas must be “without mercy” but not “without rules.” He also reportedly suggested that the international coalition used to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria could be redeployed to fight against Hamas in Gaza. Finally, both leaders expressed the urgency of a complete and unconditional release of hostages. On Oct. 25, Macron traveled to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas – the first meeting between Abbas and a European leader since the beginning of the war. Protesters filled the streets of Ramallah, burning photos of Macron and accusing him of unqualified support for the Israeli government. During the meeting, Abbas characterized the war between Israel and Hamas as an Israeli military aggression and voiced the need for an immediate political solution. Macron expressed that there is no justification for the suffering of civilians in Gaza and pushed for the restoration of electricity to Gaza, particularly to hospitals and medical facilities, and several other humanitarian commitments. In the weeks following his visit, he has reiterated these sentiments, calling for a humanitarian pause and eventual ceasefire on Nov. 10 for the protection of Gazan civilians – a demand most Western leaders are yet to voice. In his meeting with Netanyahu, Macron declared the two-state solution as an integral part of resolving the current war between Israel and Hamas, stating that lasting peace will not be feasible “without a decisive relaunch of the political process with the Palestinians.” While France is far from alone in advocating for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the French government has expressed particular historical willingness to take initiative on matters of negotiation and diplomacy. The French government spearheaded the Venice Declaration in 1980, an agreement of the European Economic Community that affirmed the Palestinian right to self-determination and advocated for the inclusion of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in peace talks, even when it was designated by the United States and other powers as a terrorist organization. However, some question if France retains this commitment to Palestinians today, after increasing ties with Israel over time and criminalizing initiatives like the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement domestically. While the United States has played the role of the largest foreign power broker in the Middle East for several decades, the Biden administration placed minimal emphasis on Israel and Palestine compared to other policy priorities prior to the Oct. 7 attacks – he appointed no special envoy for Middle East peace, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has had relatively little engagement with Israel and Palestine compared to other regions, and campaign commitments like reopening the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem for Palestinians faced years of stagnancy. Most recent U.S. attention was placed upon the potential accession of Saudi Arabia to the Abraham Accords, but negotiations were halted after the Oct. 7 attacks. Coupled with continued US military support for Israel creating distrust among Palestinians and Mahmoud Abbas’s prior unequivocal rejection of any U.S.-brokered peace plan, it’s possible France could play a mediatory role as the war continues. While Macron has been measured in his meetings with all parties, we must look to his future actions to see where his true policy priorities lie.

< Back Central Mediterranean Sea Rescue Sparks Heated Debate in European Union By Sophia Rottman January 31, 2023 Although various member countries tried to strengthen their borders, the number of migrants to the European Union increased by 68 percent in 2022 — the largest yearly increase since 2016. The major migration paths to Europe are through the Eastern Land Border, the Western Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Central Mediterranean, the Western Mediterranean and the Western African route. While the Western Balkans route records the highest number of entries to the European Union, the Central Mediterranean passage continues to take the most lives. The journey was fatal for 2,000 people in 2022, not including any unrecorded deaths. At the beginning of November 2022, France and Italy were at odds over an NGO-operated rescue ship, the Ocean Viking. Closest to the Italian shoreline, the Ocean Viking originally asked for a safe port in Italy. The Italian government would not relent, and the vessel, NGO staff and 234 migrants spent weeks at sea in the Mediterranean. The French government argued that Italy was responsible for offering a safe port according to international maritime law. Realizing Italy was unlikely to help, France allowed the boat to dock in Toulon. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin called Italy’s behavior “incomprehensible” and that it “lacked humanity.” For Italy, the Ocean Viking was just one part of what the government sees as a much larger problem: increasing migration at a rate disproportionate to other Central Mediterranean countries. From January to mid-December 2022, Italy received 102,000 migrants through the Central Mediterranean, a drastic increase from 67,000 in 2021. Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the country wants “an agreement to establish on the basis of population, how migrants with a right to asylum are relocated to various countries.” However, Italy is not the only European Mediterranean country turning away migrants rescued at sea. In September 2022, Malta’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) sent a merchant vessel that had rescued 23 migrants in the country’s search and rescue zone to Egypt. The Shimanami Queen was 159 nautical miles from Malta and 146 from Italy. Egypt was 760 nautical miles away. The RCC of Malta ordered merchant vessels near the endangered migrants at sea to stick to their planned route or await further instruction — a practice that Sea-Watch, Alarm Phone, Mediterranea Saving Humans and Doctors Without Borders argue the country frequently uses to prevent migrant arrivals. On June 22, 2022, eighteen European Union countries and three others announced their agreement upon the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism, a provisional response to migration in the Mediterranean member states. Based on GDP and population, the mechanism would reallocate asylum seekers to a new member state after registration in the country of initial arrival. Countries that would not accept reallocation would provide financial or border control support. France and Italy signed while non-signatories include Poland, Denmark and Sweden. Within five months, the new agreement would be threatened. Following the diplomatic stand-off over the Ocean Viking, in mid-November, France increased its border control with Italy. The country announced it would send 500 more officers to ten Franco-Italian border crossing points and was withdrawing from the solidarity mechanism, reneging on its offer to take in 3,000 migrants from Italy. Around the same time, a joint statement from Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Italy called for the solidarity mechanism to transition from voluntary to mandatory status. On Nov. 21, 2022, the European Commission published an Action Plan on the Central Mediterranean, proposing 20 reforms to mediate the troublesome Central Mediterranean migration route. Various NGOs have criticized the plan for merely repeating past mistakes. Catherine Woollard, the director of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, said that the plan “focus[es] on the responsibilities of the non-European states on the other side of the Med[iterranean]” and that the “first priority for Europe should be agreements within Europe.” At the end of 2022, the Italian government issued a new decree addressing civil sea rescue. Under the decree, if rescue ships do not immediately leave the search and rescue zone after their first rescue and move to their assigned safe port without delay, they will suffer harsh consequences, including fines of up to 50,000 Euros and vessel confiscation. Additionally, the Italian government had already begun assigning farther locations as safe ports to decrease rescue ships’ time in the rescue zone. Sea-Watch argues that if a captain does not try to rescue other people in danger, they are violating their duty to rescue in international law. The Union border agency Frontex informs Libya’s coast guard of migrant boats using GPS data, enabling their return of 23,000 migrants to Libya in 2022. Human Rights Watch warns that Europe is “complicit in the abuse” of people in Libyan camps and Doctors Without Borders asserts that Libya does not meet the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ guidelines of a safe port. Doctors Without Borders has publicly requested a European state Mediterranean search and rescue system and a better migrant distribution mechanism in the European Union. Largescale migration to Europe through the Central Mediterranean is unlikely to stop anytime soon. Without reform to Mediterranean rescue systems and a united stance in the European Union on how to alleviate member states unequally pressured by increasing migrant arrivals, prolonged and unnecessary suffering at sea is likely to continue.

< Back Boris Johnson faces Pressure as Police Mount Investigation into ‘Partygate’ By Hugo Lagergren March 31, 2022 Picture a group of 30 people gathered in the back garden of a house; a group of people who were invited to “bring their own booze” to the gathering, a gathering to which over 100 people had been invited. Now picture a small wooden table, topped with cheese and wine, with colleagues relaxing around it. While these scenes may sound normal at first glance, you are quickly persuaded otherwise when you learn that these activities occurred in Number 10 Downing Street, the heart of the British government, during a national lockdown. These were the first two out of 12 events held at Number 10, currently under criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police for breaching national lockdown laws — both of which Boris Johnson has admitted to attending. The events took place in May 2020, almost two months after the beginning of the first national lockdown in the United Kingdom. On each of the days of these events, over 300 people died of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the prime minister (PM) and his staff partied. Allegations of these Downing Street gatherings during lockdown began to break in late 2021. Since then, the case against Boris Johnson’s administration has only become stronger, leaving him to fight for his political life. Leaked emails and pictures show Boris Johnson and Downing Street staff continuously disregarding the rules that they themselves introduced to fight the pandemic. Other events include a birthday celebration on 19 June 2020, which was held in the Cabinet Room for the PM organised by his then-fiancé. ITV News reported that up to 30 people attended this party. They also reported that singing took place and cake was served to everyone. On 13 November 2020, two more gatherings took place in Number 10: one to acknowledge the departure of a senior Downing Street advisor, and one, inside the prime minister’s private flat, to celebrate the departure of Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s former senior advisor, who had left the Prime Minister’s staff earlier that day. These events all occurred during periods when restrictions were in place and fines could be issued to anyone found in violation of these rules. Gatherings, both indoors or outdoors, of more than two people were illegal, with a few exceptions. Whilst work-related issues may have qualified as exempt, birthdays and drinking parties certainly did not. Their behavior is “difficult to justify,” said Sue Gray, a senior civil servant who recently conducted an investigation into the events, especially as the public was forced to “accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives.” “The good people are outraged by Johnson's ‘do as I say not as I do’ attitude. People could not say final goodbyes to dying loved ones, could not go to funerals and delayed weddings to obey the rules. Rules that Johnson just ignored,” said Liam Byrne, Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill. He added, “Boris Johnson is an utter shambles of a prime minister, who has lied through his teeth about lockdown parties at Downing Street while presiding over a chaotic government that's doing nothing to help ordinary families deal with the spiralling cost of living.” In a brief update before the full report was published, Ms. Gray identified 16 events, during a period starting in May 2020 and ending in April 2021, that justified investigation, as they “represent a serious failure to observe” the high standards required of the government to lead the British people. Furthermore, another photo emerged showing that Johnson had attended a Christmas Quiz on 15 December 2020. The photo shows the PM standing behind two staff members, one wearing festive tinsel. The frame also displays an open bottle of champagne on the desk, in front of the group. Ms. Gray’s update sheds light on the heavy drinking culture which is innate to Number 10 under Johnson’s leadership. A drinking culture which, according to Ms. Gray, “is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time.” However, Ms. Gray’s claims are not the first allegations against Johnson’s government regarding its excessive alcohol consumption. From the supposed installation of a “wine fridge” in one of the Downing Street offices, to the claims of suitcases full of booze being wheeled into Number 10, a tradition, which some sources claim dates back to David Cameron’s premiership, one is left to wonder how any work gets done in Number 10. An ex-senior advisor to Tony Blair spoke to the Menton Times about the scandal and said, when asked about the current drinking culture in Number 10, that “it just seems to be absolutely extraordinary […] The idea that the people manning the phones and talking to the world’s media about the British Government’s view on developing events would be drunk, is absolutely amazing.” The ‘Partygate’ scandal fell at a time of rising tensions between Russia and the West, over Putin’s early intention to invade Ukraine (see our special section on Ukraine for more). The scandal has diverted Downing Street’s attention away from a rapidly escalating situation. Johnson has organized a series of carefully calculated visits to vaccine centers and green energy projects, with the aim of restoring his heavily damaged image. The extended nature of the scandal, with Johnson trying to cling to power, has had serious consequences for Britain on the international stage, argues MP Liam Byrne. “The media around the world has looked on in amazement at this bumbling prime minister. As events on the Ukraine border underline, these are serious times that demand a serious leader. And Britain doesn't have one in 10 Downing Street.” Johnson has repeatedly, throughout his career, been accused of dishonesty and a lack of professionalism. A failure of leadership was highlighted in Sue Gray’s report.“The leader of any organization sets the tone, […] and the prime minister has set the tone of the rules not really applying to him, and therefore, to anybody who works for him,” says the ex-Downing Street advisor. He added that this sort of behavior “is not OK when you’re prime minister of the country […] The fact is, everybody knows that there would have been no such culture” under previous prime ministers. The recent partying transgression is part of a long list of scandals that have gripped Boris Johnson’s career. From his time at the Daily Telegraph, where he conspired to have a fellow journalist beaten up, to the lies and manipulation he was accused of during the Brexit campaign, up until his Premiership, during which he has been accused of dishonesty and corruption, notably during the ‘Cash for Curtains’ scandal, the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal and now, ‘Partygate.’ Despite the numerous scandals throughout his career, Johnson’s rapid rise to the top job somehow continued. However, ‘Partygate’ appears to be seriously threatening his position for the first time. The restrictions put in place by the government to curb the omnipresent threat of the virus subjected everyone to the same rules (apart from when Britain entered a regional tier system) and the same penalties — rules and penalties which also applied to the prime minister. Indeed, many conservative MPs are starting to lose faith in the prime minister. ITV News reports that as many as 20 letters of no confidence are believed to have been submitted to the Conservative Party apparatus. This demonstrates that Conservative MPs are rapidly losing faith in Johnson’s ability to lead. However, 20 is a long way short from the required 54 letters to trigger a vote of no confidence. The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has been praised for his handling of the situation, with his response in parliament to Ms. Gray’s report receiving over three and half million views on Twitter. Polls have also shown a large upswing in support for the Labour Party. So does Labour finally have enough support to overthrow 12 years of Tory rule? While Starmer’s position is not nearly as comfortable as he would have wished for, his ratings in the polls as leader of the Labour Party have increased by 16% in the last six months. If Starmer is to dethrone Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party, then he must maintain this intensity with which he has recently been gripped. He has proven successful in discrediting Boris Johnson in the eyes of the public. He must now start to build on this by developing his plan for Britain and selling it to the British people. The former Labour advisor commented on the party’s ability to defeat the Conservatives. “They’ve got an enormous uphill climb, Labour. They have got to do something which has virtually never been done in British political history, in terms of turning around millions and millions of votes in England to swap from Tory to Labour. It is a massive challenge. Jeremy Corbyn trashed the party and trashed the brand of Labour and it is a very big ask to come back in one election.” Strategy-wise, Labour is divided on how to achieve victory over the Conservatives. Most Labour MPs believe that Johnson should be removed before the end of his tenureship. There are, however, a small group of Labour MPs who believe that it would be better to keep the Prime Minister in office, due to the damage he has sustained, as it would greatly benefit them in the next election campaign. Labour MP Liam Byrne said, “there's an old saying that it's governments that lose elections, rather than oppositions that win them. But Keir knows Labour won't win by default. We've still got trust to earn and plans to set out, that put our country on a new course.”

< Back Kakuma By Amalia Heide October 31, 2023 C’est le 2 octobre, un dimanche à six heures du matin, Luna et moi sommes retrouvées à la gare de Menton Garavan pour prendre un avion — notre destination finale : la conférence internationale sur les mobilités et immobilités organisée par Open Society University Network (OSUN). L'élément le plus marquant de cette conférence est son lieu : le camp de réfugiés de Kakuma au Kenya constitue le troisième plus grand camp de réfugiés au monde. Comment ce camp de réfugiés a-t-il vu le jour ? Dans les années 90, des milliers de mineurs ont été contraints de fuir la violence au Soudan, conséquence de la guerre civile de 1983. Ces enfants ont fui leurs villages et ont trouvé refuge dans les forêts, d'où ils ont entrepris un périple à pied pour rejoindre l'Éthiopie ou le Kenya. En 1994, le camp de réfugiés de Kakuma a ouvert dans le nord du Kenya pour accueillir ces "enfants perdus du Soudan" qui avaient survécu en groupes pendant des semaines, des mois, voire des années grâce au leadership des aînés, dont certains n'avaient pas plus de 10 ou 12 ans. Cependant, on estime que la moitié de ceux qui ont fui le pays ont péri en chemin. Actuellement, bon nombre de ces enfants sont devenus adultes et nous remarquons que des personnes de différentes nationalités se sont ajoutées au camp, fuyant les conflits dans les pays voisins. Étant donné que le camp de réfugiés de Kakuma abrite plus de 185 000 réfugiés–six fois plus que la population de Mentones les réfugiés provenant de plus de 20 nationalités différentes, une communauté très diversifiée a été construite Pourtant, ce qui me surprend le plus dans ce camp, c'est son rôle en tant que référence éducative dans la région. Malgré les difficultés, 50 000 mineurs fréquentent les plus de 30 écoles du camp et parviennent à atteindre un bon niveau d'éducation, avec des notes supérieures à la moyenne nationale du Kenya. Selon les chiffres du HCR, en 2018, 90% des élèves ont réussi le Certificat d'Éducation Primaire, contre 76,3% dans le reste du pays. C'est particulièrement remarquable étant donné que chaque enseignant doit s'occuper de 96 élèves, soit près de 20 de plus que dans les autres salles de classe du pays. Pour ceux qui parviennent à atteindre le niveau secondaire, beaucoup obtiennent des bourses DAFI du UNHCR pour des études supérieures ou participent à des cours en ligne proposés par OSUN dans un centre éducatif situé dans le camp. Cette initiative vise à promouvoir l'égalité d'accès à l'enseignement supérieur et à la recherche dans les zones touchées par les crises et les déplacements. C'est à ces élèves de ce centre éducatif géré par des jésuites que Luna, moi-même et 10 autres étudiants issus de différentes universités du réseau OSUN avons eu l'honneur de rencontrer. La conférence s'est déroulée sur trois jours. Les deux premiers ont eu lieu au centre éducatif d'OSUN, situé dans le camp de réfugiés de Kakuma. Le troisième s'est tenu à environ dix kilomètres du camp, à l'hôtel Cairo Palace, où nous, étudiants étrangers, étions logés. À première vue, le camp ne semble pas être une prison, contrairement à la plupart des camps de réfugiés. Aucune grille ni barrière visible n'empêche les gens d'entrer et de sortir et ainsi nous avons pu entrer et sortir en voiture sans être contrôlés. Or, cette apparente liberté est simplement illusoire. En effet, le camp est situé dans une région aride où le soleil, la chaleur et la poussière rendent impossible tout déplacement à pied. À cette première contrainte s'ajoutent d'autres obstacles: s'éloigner du camp pour se rendre dans une autre localité implique de faire face à l'hostilité des tribus locales, constituant une véritable barrière. Le Kenya est un pays où l'identité tribale est forte, chaque tribu ayant son propre territoire défini. Les tribus qui accueillent les réfugiés sur leur territoire sont appelées "communautés d'accueil" et ainsi les tensions entre la communauté de réfugiés et ces communautés d'accueil sont palpables, comme nous l'ont expliqué plusieurs étudiants. À titre d'anecdote, des membres des communautés d'accueil volent du bétail aux réfugiés, considérant que ce n'est pas du vol, mais simplement prendre ce qui leur appartient puisqu'ils sont sur LEUR territoire. Par ailleurs,l'armée installe des points de contrôle sur les routes et demande aux véhicules de montrer des autorisations de circulation. Cela signifie qu'un réfugié souhaitant se rendre par exemple à Nairobi (la capitale du Kenya) a besoin d'un visa pour pouvoir passer s'il est contrôlé aux points de contrôle – une démarche pas forcément facile pour les réfugiés En réalité, cela signifie que les réfugiés de Kakuma sont pris au piège. Pour les étudiants d'OSUN, l'une des façons de s'échapper de cet enfermement est de saisir les opportunités éducatives, que ce soit en participant à des conférences internationales ou en obtenant une bourse pour étudier dans une université au Kenya ou à l'étranger. C'est cet espoir de sortir du camp grâce à l'éducation, qui motive du moins ceux qui fréquentent le centre éducatif d'OSUN, à cultiver une profonde culture de l'étude. Malgré le wifi limité et le besoin de travailler à côté de leurs études pour subvenir à leurs besoins et à ceux de leurs familles, ils trouvent le temps de s'inscrire à des cours de relations internationales, d'ingénierie, de cinéma, de santé publique et de droits de l'homme. Au niveau de l'éducation, ils font face à une difficulté supplémentaire : tous les cours sont en anglais. Cela signifie que, surtout pour les nouveaux arrivants au Kenya, ils doivent d'abord apprendre l'anglais, une langue cruciale non seulement pour leurs études, mais aussi pour la communication au sein de la communauté de Kakuma, où l'anglais est la langue commune. Au niveau national, la relation du Kenya avec cette langue fait partie de son héritage post-colonial britannique. Malgré les 65 langues vivantes au Kenya, l'anglais et le swahili (les deux langues officielles) sont des outils essentiels pour favoriser l'unité nationale. C’est pourquoi, ils apprennent à l'école, la langue maternelle étant la langue parlée dans la tribu. Ainsi, l'anglais revêt une grande importance pour le développement socio-économique et culturel, car même les programmes télévisés sont diffusés en anglais. Reprenant les caractéristiques du camp de réfugiés de Kakuma, les conditions de vie sont extrêmement difficiles, marquées par des constructions fragiles principalement en tôle. Ce détail est au cœur d'un problème majeur : la chaleur intense, devenue suffocante, et la lumière du soleil peuvent devenir insupportables, obligeant à chercher refuge à l'ombre. Cependant, comme les logements sont en tôle et que beaucoup d'entre eux ne disposent pas d'électricité, échapper à la chaleur est extrêmement difficile, à moins d'être sous la protection d'un arbre. Même le centre éducatif d'OSUN n'est pas équipé de climatisation, ce qui crée des conditions difficiles d’apprentissage À ce défi de la chaleur s'ajoute la pénurie d'eau, qui malgré son importance vitale constitue un “luxe” pour la communauté. À Kakuma, le manque d'eau est constant, malgré les efforts des ONG internationales telles que le PAM dans une partie de l'approvisionnement. Par conséquent, les habitants sont contraints de se déplacer vers les rives du Tarach, un lit de rivière sec, où il n'y a de l'eau que pendant la saison des pluies. La dépendance envers le PAM est également évidente en ce qui concerne l'approvisionnement alimentaire, ce qui contribue à la vulnérabilité de la population du camp. Toutefois les difficultés ne s’arrêtent pas ici. Il est essentiel de mentionner un autre facteur en apparence insignifiant à première vue : la poussière, omniprésente et envahissante. Elle pénètre dans les yeux, gêne la vision, se dépose dans les poumons et complique la respiration, adhérant à la peau, aux cheveux et aux vêtements. Dans l’objectif d'améliorer la situation, il est absolument nécessaire que des projets de développement urbain soient mis en place pour contrer le pouvoir dévastateur de cette poussière. Les étudiants du camp de réfugiés de Kakuma, confrontés quotidiennement à ces difficultés, sont pleinement conscients de la nécessité de trouver des solutions. Au lieu de se plaindre, ils entreprennent des projets de développement social dans le camp. Pour eux, bien que le camp de réfugiés doive être un abri temporaire, il est devenu leur résidence permanente au fil du temps , et ils ont ainsi développé un sentiment de communauté et d'appartenance. Beaucoup aspirent à poursuivre des études universitaires pour ensuite revenir et appliquer ce qu'ils ont appris dans la communauté, générant un changement concret en matière de développement Après cette brève introduction et contextualisation, dans la prochaine édition de Menton Times, nous plongerons dans les détails de ces projets. Nous explorerons également la problématique des violations des droits humains dans le camp de réfugiés, notamment en ce qui concerne les droits des femmes et des minorités LGBTQ+.

< Back Minors are Pushed Back at the Franco-Italian Border By Saoirse Aherne September 27, 2023 Since February, Sciences Po Refugee Help (SPRH) has been conducting weekly permanences at the Franco-Italian border to document the pushback of people on the move. At the permanences, SPRH volunteers wait outside the Italian border police station to receive migrants turned away from France. In total, the student association is stationed at the border for 11.5 hours each Sunday. Volunteers bring tea and coffee, notify individuals that no buses run on Sundays and guide them toward Ventimiglia. The aim is to create a sense of accountability among authorities, as the presence of volunteers reminds police that their actions are under observation. SPRH ensures that the Red Cross is called when young children are released, and volunteers can contact other regional solidarity actors to connect people on the move with local services. SPRH members offer what limited information they can, explaining in simple terms why a person has been rejected and where to go in Ventimiglia for food, legal support or a place to charge their phone. Ultimately, the extent of the support that can be provided is limited, and volunteers frequently encounter victims of unclear legal processes for whom no solution can be offered. In many cases, all volunteers can do is provide conversation, recognition and kindness. In 105 hours of observation, SPRH has encountered over 600 men, women and children at the Franco-Italian frontier. This suggests that about seven people are forced back from the border per hour. Of those pushed back, close to a fifth have been women, while close to 11 percent were accompanied minors, many of whom were under 12. About two percent were identified as unaccompanied minors. January 22 2023 Volunteers encounter a group of 16 year olds upon their rejection from France The first boy holds up his rejection paper, his age has been falsified: “My birthdate is the 23 of April 2007. They put the 23 of April 2004….With all this suffering, I ask myself why the French behave in this way, why are they cruel to us? We are minors.” After beginning this project, volunteers quickly noticed a perpetual violation of international law at the border via the pushback of unaccompanied minors. This observation has been corroborated by a number of humanitarian groups working along the Franco-Italian border. The right to asylum for minors is established by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states in Article 22, “State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status… Receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance.” Equally, French law recognizes the right of minors to claim asylum as, in 2018, the Nice Administrative Court ruled that it is illegal to send minors who enter French territory back to Italy. The European Council on Refugees and Exiles maintains that asylum-seeking children must be considered as children before they are considered asylum seekers. This means they ought to be awarded all the rights guaranteed to children in the United Nations Charter of the Rights of the Child. The Nice court, however, found the French authorities guilty of “a serious violation of the higher interests of the minors.” Despite the numerous denunciations of the pushback of minors from both local and international humanitarian organizations, French police have continued the practice. SPRH has gathered dozens of accounts of police forging signatures and incorrectly documenting dates of birth to justify the expulsion of children from French territory. Albeit true that many minors are first incorrectly registered as major when they arrive in Italy and thus appear as such in the system on the Italian side of the border, French police remain accountable for the forgery of signatures and dates of birth. Moreover, in cases where individuals can present documents that prove their status as minors, it should not be at the discretion of border police to determine whether these documents are sufficient proof of minor status. Ultimately, French police have no actual legal authority to determine who is a minor; however, gaps in the vague border protocol have resulted in police exercising this authority. March 26 2023: Testimony from an SPRH volunteer “We encountered a group of minors with documents proving their age. What’s more, they claim to have been registered as minors in Italy. They say they escaped from a camp for minors in Lampedusa as the conditions were unbearable. Given this, we approach the Italian police and ask why the boys are being rejected. They tell us the machine to check the registry for the boys' age is broken and that they should come back the next day. It is shocking that a faulty machine is sufficient justification for the arbitrary expulsion of unaccompanied minors.” The Border Report The perpetuation of this illegal practice has sparked the interest of the SPRH research pole, who have decided to investigate this border in more depth. Students have engaged in broader research on the violations of international law by authorities in this region. This includes the suspension of human rights in the informal detention center at the Franco-Italian border in Menton, as well as the lack of sufficient basic health services, the consequences of the militarisation of the border and the practice of racialized controls. The research, which has been conducted over the course of the last 6 months and on par with the border permanences, is being compiled in a report which will be published on June 1st, 2023. The project is called “Stories in Motion” and a website, which we invite you to visit at https://storiesinmotion.glitch.me is already up and running. Follow @st0riesinm0ti0n on instagram for more testimony from the people working in, living on and crossing the Franco-Italian border.

< Back Pandora Papers: Everything You Need to Know About the ‘Biggest Ever’ Leak of Off-Shore Data By Celeste Abourjeili November 30, 2021 Making headlines earlier this fall, the Pandora Papers are a leak of nearly 12 million documents which implicate world leaders in legal and illegal tax evasion, hidden wealth, and even cases of money laundering. Despite the massive breadth of the leak, which exposed 330 politicians and indicated over 10 trillion USD in offshore investments and accounts, the Pandora Papers have received little coverage. This article will cover the most important details of the leak, and feature an interview with Thinking Like a Lawyer professor and legal scholar Daniel Traficonte. What exactly are the Pandora Papers? The Pandora Papers are a leak of documents that have been thoroughly investigated by 600 journalists from 117 sources for several months. In the United States, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) was heading the investigation. In the United Kingdom, the initiative was spearheaded by BBC Panorama and the Guardian. The leak included documents, photographs, emails, and spreadsheets amounting to a grand total of 12 million objects. The most significant components of the leak concerned offshore wealth, including offshore investments of 330 politicians. What does offshore wealth consist of? Offshore wealth has provided a means for the world’s most affluent people to conceal their assets and minimize taxes. Wealth can be legally concealed when spent or saved in “tax havens,” or nations with low taxation, such as Panama, Dubai, Monaco, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, and a number of American states. Investments such as home ownership may be conducted through anonymous companies that conceal their owner’s identity. Some countries do not require the identity of “beneficial owners” of property. In these cases, the beneficial ownership loophole allows owners to legally hide behind false company names. “I think global tax-dodging is a classic case of ‘legalized corruption,’” said Traficonte. He believes that the legality of this kind of tax evasion may be one of the reasons why public reaction following the leak has been low. “But of course what is ‘legal’ can still be extremely corrupt and harmful to society, and people shouldn't lose sight of this distinction,” he said. What are the implications of the leak? With such wide wealth disparity in the status quo, the implications of the leak could have been massive. The leak revealed that many political leaders who claim to support the common people are, in fact, hiding extreme amounts of wealth. This could also have created a public resentment against leaders for their lack of transparency. Russian president Vladimir Putin was implicated by his associates’ assets in Monaco, including that of a woman with whom he is suspected of having a child. The king of Jordan was found to have used anonymous companies, known as shell companies, to acquire a large number of properties in the United States and abroad. While there may not be direct repercussions for this hidden use of extravagant wealth, political leaders may face a reputational slap in the face. “Of course, in authoritarian regimes, high profile corruption is nothing new. But the example of Czech prime minister shows that the differentiation between [authoritarian regimes] and modern, ‘good’ liberal democracies is rather illusory,” said Political Humanities major Stanislaw Naklicki. Traficonte also pointed to the fact that “global wealth inequality is probably much worse than the official numbers would suggest, since the global ultra-rich are so easily able to hide the true extent of their wealth from official data.” Traficonte also suggested that world leaders may face more pressure to conceal their wealth as this form of private power is becoming “obviously excessive and undemocratic” in the public eye. Traficonte used the king of Jordan as an example: “[he] doesn't have to hide the fact that he owns all this luxury real estate in California. The fact that he feels he now has to is pretty interesting.” The economic implications of the storage of 10 trillion USD in offshore assets is worth considering, as well. “The macroeconomic implication is that so much… global capital that could be used to generate growth, particularly in the sectors that we might think are important (i.e. green and sustainable technologies), is basically sitting idle and collecting rents,” said Traficonte. He also pointed to a theory which suggests that, in the past 40 years, or since the rise of ‘neoliberalism’ in Western states, the economic elite have stopped investing in productive activities (e.g. buying companies or investing in new products). These classic ‘capital’ investments, it seems, have stopped being profitable — or so the elite believes, according to this theory. “These leaks I think could be some confirmation of that view, since what we see here is the ultra-rich just parking their money into real estate, for the most part,” said Traficonte. What now? The European Union and the United States, among other governing bodies, have both said that they will respond to the Pandora Papers with new legislation to crack down on methods of tax avoidance. At a glance, legal repercussions and changes in legislation would seem like practical solutions — if they actually happen, that is. “The ideal solution,” said Traficonte, “would be an international treaty with real "teeth" –– real enforcement mechanisms that force governments to crack down on this kind of activity. The problem is that, if you have any holdouts, those are going to become the new tax havens.” In other words, without a “totally comprehensive international regime,” there will always be other options and methods for people to move and disguise their wealth. For that reason, Traficonte concluded that this solution seems unlikely. However, “there is plenty that national governments could do to control capital outflows, if they chose to.” Yet, he believes that more attention and political mobilization on this topic would be needed before serious solutions can be considered. Given the amount of political leaders who were directly involved, it is hard to imagine that such a solution could realistically take place in most states. What are some long-term consequences of the Pandora Papers leak? Considering its size, this leak has received relatively little coverage and attention. The Panama Papers, a similar leak in 2016 of a much smaller size, received a lot more public attention, for instance. “The Panama Papers were ‘the revelation,’ the first hint which stimulated the instinct that the global financial/political system may be more rotten than previously thought,” said Naklicki. “Every next leak was… nothing new. I think there is no way the leak will actually change something substantially.” Traficonte believes that people fail to draw the connection between global stashing of wealth and domestic issues in their everyday lives, and this could be a reason for the low public backlash. However, he told us “the connection is real: this is all money that should be taxed and used for social and public services. I think the media needs to do a better job at pointing out these connections, otherwise people will continue to see this as a distant problem and it'll just keep blowing over.” Though there might be some resignations following the leak, Naklicki stipulated that as long as the system remains, such an abuse of power is sure to continue. “History taught us on the example of the Panama Papers that nothing is bound to change… we have gone ‘too deep’ into late capitalism to actually see an alternative.”

< Back L'OCS ou la Peur a L'Occident Eloïse Franzmann September 30, 2025 Le 1er septembre 2025, lors du sommet annuel de l’Organisation de Coopération de Shanghai (OCS), Xi Jinping dénonçait une « mentalité de guerre froide » et des « actes d’intimidation » visant implicitement l’administration américaine. Ces propos, repris dans de nombreux médias occidentaux, renforcent une certaine inquiétude quant à la montée en puissance de la Chine. L’OCS est fondée en 2001 comme prolongement et institutionnalisation du « Groupe de Shanghai », forum de coopération régionale créé sous l’impulsion de la Chine et de la Russie. Comme mission première, assurer la stabilisation sécuritaire de l’Asie centrale, bien que la coopération économique et commerciale revêt désormais une dimension tout aussi importante. La Charte de l’OCS, adoptée la même année, fixe comme principaux objectifs « la lutte contre le terrorisme, le séparatisme éthnique et l’extrémisme religieux ». Néanmoins, en pratique, cette doctrine des « trois fléaux » (terrorisme, séparatisme, extrémisme) élaborée par Pékin, permet de justifier de nombreuses politiques autoritaires, que ce soit la répression de groupes d’opposition en Russie ou la répression virulente des Ouïghours en Chine. Si l’organisation est fondée par 6 pays (Chine, Russie, Kazakhstan, Kirghizistan, Ouzbékistan et Tadjikistan) elle s’est progressivement élargie à l’Inde et au Pakistan en 2017, ainsi qu’ à l’Iran en 2023, représentant aujourd’hui 42% de la population mondiale. Parallèlement, le nombre de pays observateurs (Mongolie, Biélorussie, Afghanistan, etc.) et « partenaires de dialogue » a considérablement augmenté, passant de 6 en 2022 à 16 en 2025. De cette expansion indéniable découle une sphère d’influence agrandie, qui s’étend au-delà du continent asiatique jusqu’au Moyen-Orient. L’OCS s’affirme par conséquent comme un pôle incontournable pour les États eurasiatiques. C’est dans le contexte d’un ordre multipolaire, où l’influence occidentale est remise en cause, que l’OCS apparaît, aux yeux des spécialistes, comme une force diplomatique prééminente sur la scène internationale. Alors que Xi Jinping défend une « gouvernance mondiale plus juste et plus équitable,» certains perçoivent avec l’ascension de la diplomatie chinoise un essoufflement de l’hégémonie occidentale. Le sommet de Tianjin, du 31 août au 1er septembre 2025, s’est d’abord présenté comme le théâtre de l’amitié sino-russe. De fait, les dirigeants Vladimir Poutine et Xi Jinping n’en sont pas moins qu’à leur soixantième rencontre. Quelques jours après l’OCS, à l’occasion des commémorations du 80e anniversaire de la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale le 3 septembre 2025, Vladimir Poutine mais aussi Kim Jong-un ont été conviés au défilé par Pékin. Une amitié qui met en scène leur unité face à l’Occident. De même, la présence du président iranien Massoud Pezeshkian et la signature de 24 documents finaux sur le renforcement de la coopération de l’OCS, nourrissent les préoccupations des Etats-Unis et de leurs alliés quant à la consolidation d’un axe Russie-Chine-Iran concurrent et autonome. Toutefois, si les présences russes et iraniennes n’ont rien d’insolite, la venue du président indien Narendra Modi est assez inédite, marquant le retour du président indien en Chine pour la première fois depuis le contentieux frontalier sino-indien dans la vallée de la Galwan en 2020—où des soldats des Etats respectifs s’étaient affrontés. Le sommet de Tianjin témoigne d’une nouvelle réussite diplomatique, certainement plus marquante après l’intégration simultanée de l’Inde et du Pakistan en 2017, alors même que les litiges frontaliers persistent depuis des années. Malgré des rivalités, la coopération n’est pas nécessairement bloquée. Cette idée fait écho à la logique développée par le chercheur en relations internationales Robert O.Keohane qui, dans son ouvrage After Hegemony, convient que “la coopération n’est pas un état exempt de conflictualité, mais une réaction à la conflictualité ou à sa potentialité”. Si la Chine apparaît, aux yeux de la plupart des observateurs internationaux, comme une puissance fédératrice à travers l’OCS , l’inquiétude au sein du bloc occidental, qui comprend notamment les États-Unis et l’Union européenne, est bien celle de se marginaliser face à un bloc eurasiatique organisé autour de ses plus grandes puissances. Alors que la Turquie ne possède jusqu’alors qu’un statut de “partenaire de dialogue”, Recep Tayyip Erdogan annonçait dès 2022 sa volonté de rejoindre à part entière l’organisation, dénotant le poids de l’OCS. Pour autant, sous couvert d’une démonstration d’unité, des rivalités internes persistent entre les différentes puissances membres de l’OCS et peuvent empêcher son bon fonctionnement. Les Etats membres affichent des ambitions géopolitiques divergentes, voire concurrentes. Ainsi, la bonne entente entre Pékin et Moscou n’empêche pas une compétition persistante entre les deux puissances. De fait, le rapprochement récent entre Moscou et Pyongyang, qui s’est traduit par la signature d’un accord d’assistance mutuelle en juin 2024, a contrarié Pékin. Xi Jin Ping entend dès lors rappeler sa prééminence régionale, notamment à travers le défilé militaire du 3 septembre 2025 auquel la Russie et la Corée du Nord étaient accueillies. De même , le sommet de Tianjin n’a pas pu cacher les divergences entre la Russie et la Turquie. Le président turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, invité en tant que partenaire de dialogue a proposé à Vladimir Poutine une médiation dans le conflit russo-ukrainien, proposition qui fut très mal reçue. Cette hétérogénéité témoigne d’une chose : l’OCS incarne un projet d’affirmation collective anti-occidental alors que sa capacité à se construire en tant que bloc reste entravée par des rivalités internes. Par ailleurs, face à la consolidation d’un bloc eurasiatique, plusieurs questionnements surgissent à propos de l’organisation même de l’OCS, en particulier de sa possible dimension militaire. Depuis 2005, plusieurs exercices conjoints dédiés à la lutte antiterroriste, telles la « Peace Mission » ont été organisés, mobilisant les forces nationales respectives des États membres. Toutefois, l’OCS est dépourvue des attributs d’une véritable alliance militaire. Celle-ci ne dispose d’aucune clause de défense mutuelle comparable à celle de l’article 5 du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord et ne possède pas non plus de forces de projection. L’OCS ne prétend aucunement créer une alternative à l’OTAN, l’organisation semble davantage rester fidèle à ses objectifs initiaux et ainsi fonctionner comme un forum diplomatique et sécuritaire plutôt que comme une coalition militaire. L’OCS occupe désormais une place significative dans le concert des nations. Il convient d’admettre que la force diplomatique de l’OCS provient certainement de sa capacité à prendre en compte des intérêts stratégiques communs entre plusieurs pays d’Eurasie, que le multilatéralisme occidental n’aurait pas assez considéré. Cette coopération entre pays, non seulement en proposant un bloc alternatif au système occidental mais aussi en servant d’appui stratégique aux ambitions chinoises et russes remet en cause la domination économique, sécuritaire et idéologique occidentale. Pour autant, sa posture menaçante est à mettre en perspective. Selon Cédric Garrudo, diplômé de sinologie et analyste en stratégie internationale, il convient de prendre ces précautions quant à l’analyse parfois instrumentalisée et politisée qui présente l’OCS comme une organisation profondément et essentiellement anti-occidentale, une vision qui serait entretenue “pour encourager au réarmement et resserrer les rangs des pays de l’OTAN”. https://legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2025/08/30/lorganisation-de-cooperation-de-shanghai-represente-23-du-pib-et-42-de-la-population-mondiale/ (chiffre : membres de l’OCS représentent 42% de la population mondiale). Photo Source: Minister of External Affairs of India, Flickr

< Back Iraq at the Ballots Kerem Demir Karahan December 10, 2025 On Nov. 11 Iraqis went to the parliamentary election ballots to determine who gets the 329 seats on Iraq’s Council of Representatives. Following their loss in the 2021 legislative elections four years ago, supporters of Iran-backed parties attempted to storm the government buildings within the Green Zone in Baghdad. This led to violent clashes between security forces and protestors, leaving 125 individuals injured and two dead. On Nov. 7 two days after the attempted storming, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi survived a drone attack. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, however, Iraqi governmental sources state that Iran backed militias were responsible. The violent clashes were then followed with an eleven-month-long political crisis where members of the Council of Representatives were unable to form a functioning coalition government and therefore elect a president. Demonstrators supporting the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had stormed the Parliament building in the Green Zone in order to stop the nomination of anti-Iran al-Sudani for Prime Minister. In August, another series of clashes took place in Baghdad, pitting al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric, against pro-Iranian militias. The clashes in August left 30 people dead and over 700 injured. Following violent protests in Baghdad, the Parliament chose Abdul Latif Rashid as the new President of Iraq, who then tasked Al Sudani with forming a government. This year’s elections saw an unexpectedly high 56.11% participation rate, an increase of 12.81% from the 2021 elections where many politicians threatened boycotts over claims of corruption, perhaps signaling an increased confidence in the democratic process in Iraq. However, Erika Solomon and Falih Hassan of the New York Times note that “though the stakes are high, public confidence in Iraq’s democratic process is low, with nine million eligible Iraqis not even registering to vote [...]”. Ihsan al-Shammari, a political scientist at Baghdad University,mentioned in the same article, states that “This is intentional obfuscation of participation to boost their [the election’s] legitimacy”. Another attack on the legitimacy of the elections were the claims by various parties that “vote-buying” had taken place. The AP reported that “Last week, security services arrested 46 people accused of illegally buying and selling voter cards in sting operations in several provinces, and some 1,841 cards in their possession were seized.” Previous elections in Iraq were also riddled with claims of “vote-buying”, showing a trend in the apparent illegitimacy of Iraqi elections. The counting of votes was largely completed the following day, with projections showing Prime Minister al-Sudani’s party at first with 46 seats out of 329 in the Parliament and 12.06% of the popular vote. Following him in the popular vote was Masoud Barzani with 10.09% of the vote translating to 26 seats. However, the party with the second most seats in the parliament was the State of Law Coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Prime Minister al-Sudani will now need to get into coalition talks, which may take many months, all while trying to navigate both American influence demanding the dismantling of Iranian militias and Iranian groups who listen to Tehran more than Baghdad. In order to cozy up to the Americans, al-Sudani presented himself as a “tough-on-Iran” Prime Minister throughout the electoral process, and reiterated his commitment to rid the country of foreign influence following the announcement of votes. Still, 22 years after the American-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, the country’s politics remain to be dominated by the Shiite-majority, many parties of whom are still close to Iran (al-Sudani, an Iraqi Shia, and his party is a notable exception). These parties are now threatened by louder calls from the United States, highlighting the “urgency in disarming Iran-backed militia”. Another aspect of his character that al-Sudani reinvented for his elections was his characterization as a businessman, an attempt to appeal to President Trump. In order to succeed in gaining Trump’s favor, al-Sudani oversaw several deals with American oil giants and has vowed to encourage Iraqi billionaires to invest in the United States. In return, he has received promises of decreased American military presence in Iraq, with only a small number of soldiers to remain in order to ensure the Islamic State doesn’t pose any threats. The Iraqi Parliament will start attempting to form a government in the coming weeks, and their success, or lack of, will once again leave its mark on Iraq’s uneasy experiment with democracy after the American invasion.

Le désir d’aller contre tous les pronostics, de rendre fier tout un campus, de montrer que le cholismo n’est pas mort, en bref ; montrer aux yeux du monde (ou au moins quelques centaines de sciencepistes) que oui, Menton n’est pas mort, Menton ne baissera pas la tête, Menton va rivaliser et bien plus que cela, que nous n’avons jamais été aussi forts qu’aujourd’hui, plus qu’hier et moins que demain. < Back Association Feature: l'Équipe de Foot By Samy El Maloui April 29, 2022 Le bruit du ballon en cuir qui roule sur le terrain synthétique. Les éclats de voix, pour exprimer la désapprobation face à un geste raté ou l’émerveillement suivant un dribble chaloupé. La sueur stigmate de l’engagement des joueurs sur le pré (ou le cardio aberrant de certains, mais c’est un autre sujet). Les premiers automatismes qui se forgent et les premières affinités qui se créent. Le temps était doux en cette soirée qui marque la fin du mois d’août et tout doucement celle de l’été. La semaine d’intégration, les rencontres entre 1A et 2A (voire 3A un peu trop accrochés à la perle de la french riviera), l’agitation estudiantine dans la cité mentonnaise, mais surtout, la reprise de la pratique du sport roi pour les lions des Alpes. La rareté du fait donne de la valeur à la chose. Après quasiment un an d’arrêt en raison d’une pandémie qui avait mis un terme dès octobre 2020 à la rencontre, à l’interaction, au contact, à la vie en somme. Mais enfin, c’était le moment. Nous étions fringants. Après deux mois de vacances où certains traînèrent leurs carcasses à Dubaï et d’autres en Franche-Comté (grand respect pour le Football Club de Sochaux Montbéliard nonobstant), les mines étaient pleinement revitalisées, les jambes fourmillantes à l’idée d’un objectif. Le seul, l’unique, celui qui prenait toute la place dans les esprits et surtout celui du néo-capitaine : le Minicrit. Devenu un mythe pour certains, la compétition fétiche des campus de Sciences Po avait semblé avoir disparu pendant deux longues années estampillé COVID-19. Les joueurs étaient donc logiquement surmotivés à l’idée de se frotter aux dijonnais, havrais, nancéiens, parisiens, poitevins et autres rémois. Mais avant cette perspective excitante, il s’agissait de s’entraîner dur pour arriver prêt et ne pas être frauduleux à Nancy, ville d’accueil du Minicrit pour cette année. Ainsi s'enchaînèrent les séances, montrant le talent exacerbé de certains, destinés aux plus grandes carrières mais qui se retrouvaient sur ce terrain de foot à 5 miteux dans une ville peuplée en majorité de vieillards séniles. Les semaines passèrent, au gré du passage au temps automnal puis hivernal, l’obscurité de la nuit qui arrivait de plus en plus tôt, la présence de certains qui se faisaient de plus en rare, en corrélation avec le froid mordant qui avait remplacé la brise chaleureuse de l’été révolu. Le mois de novembre marquait un match contre l’école de commerce niçoise de l’IPAG dont vous connaissez sûrement l’épilogue : rappelons que ces cuistres de futurs dévots à la start-up nation ne méritaient sûrement pas de l’emporter mais sans rancune, nous avions un joueur de champ et accessoirement danseur émérite dans les buts. Mais alors que l’année battait son plein et que nous nous approchions tout doucement de la fin du premier semestre, un constat clair et net s’imposait dans les esprits. Pourquoi diable ne pourrait-on pas s’entraîner sur le non moins célèbre stade Lucien Rhein, celui-là même que El Pibe de Oro, Diego Maradona, avait foulé de ses pas en mai 1995 ? Notre capitaine, fort de ses talents de persuasion et négociation, se lançait alors dans ce qui serait un bras de fer avec celle-dont-on-ne-doit-pas-citer-le-nom, la terrible, l’infernale, la coriace… administration. Par respect pour ses membres qui ne sont pas tous à blâmer dans cette affaire, nous utiliserons uniquement ce terme plus général désignant l’institution à l’origine de tous nos atermoiements. S’enchainèrent un premier mail, deux mails, trois mails, quarante, deux-cent cinquante, trois-mille quarante… mais toujours pas de réponse satisfaisante et la lassitude commençait tout doucement à faire son lit. L’administration ne semblait pas vouloir répondre à nos revendications légitimes, celles de perpétuer l’héritage pré-Covid de nos prédécesseurs qui s'entraînaient lors des matinées du cinquième jour de la semaine. Le créneau était même en temps normal entièrement alloué à cet effet alors que nous avions, pour notre part, l’obligation d’assister à des cours plus ou moins monotones. Alors que l’espoir semblait mort et enterré, et que le rêve de se mouvoir sur le terrain synthétique du plus beau stade de la ville s’éloignait de plus en plus, le deuxième semestre avait apporté son lot de miracles. Malheureusement, M. Amouri n'était pas toujours pas venu nous gratifier de ses talents intergénérationnels sur le terrain mais nous avions enfin eu des échos positifs et obtenu un créneau après tous ces efforts. Nous allions enfin pouvoir avoir accès à ce qui semblait être l’impossible, avec un entraîneur spécialement réquisitionné pour nous afin de nous préparer dans les meilleures conditions pour le Minicrit. Après de nombreux aléas et imprévus, qui ne l’étaient parfois pas vraiment, nous nous retrouvions dans une position difficile avec de nombreux absents avant cette compétition. Mais qu’à cela tienne ! Nous étions motivés, ragaillardis, prêts à croiser le fer avec des Dijonnais inconnus, des Poitevins forts de leur préparation digne d’une équipe professionnelle avec de (très) nombreux matchs de préparations (en même temps, que peut-on faire de mieux à Poitiers…) et des Havrais que nous étions prêts à rétamer, pour leur montrer que la mer Méditerranée sera toujours meilleure que la Manche. Face à toutes les difficultés que nous avions pu rencontrer cette année spéciale, nous avions toujours cette fougue au fond de nous, celle du feu sacré. Le désir d’aller contre tous les pronostics, de rendre fier tout un campus, de montrer que le cholismo n’est pas mort, en bref ; montrer aux yeux du monde (ou au moins quelques centaines de sciencepistes) que oui, Menton n’est pas mort, Menton ne baissera pas la tête, Menton va rivaliser et bien plus que cela, que nous n’avons jamais été aussi forts qu’aujourd’hui, plus qu’hier et moins que demain. « Le sport va chercher la peur pour la dominer, la fatigue pour en triompher, la difficulté pour la vaincre. » Pierre de Coubertin

< Back European Asylum Overhaul Nears Finish Line By Yasmin Abbasoy December 31, 2023 Touted as a “historic” resolution to years of contention among Member States, the European Commission’s New Pact on Asylum and Migration has been the subject of controversy regarding the changes proposed to the procedure followed at European borders. The planned changes have been widely criticized, and non-governmental organizations have warned they could lead to a crumbling of human rights and the solidification of dangerous and often excessive practices at the borders Negotiations on the pact, proposed by European Commission President, Ursula Von Der Leyen, almost three years ago, are reported to be in their final stages. On the heels of a characteristically prolonged period of conciliation between European institutions, officials have made their intentions of finalizing the content of the pact before the new year. It has become a priority to push the pact through before the upcoming European elections in the summer of 2024. The pact is composed of five principal pieces of legislation which collectively aim to define and present a coherent legal framework outlining the measures to be taken in ordinary and extraordinary situations at the external borders of the Union. By formalizing procedures to be followed in the event of unusual pressure at the borders, the pact is envisioned to put an end to the autonomous and uninhibited responses of states to the increasingly common phenomena of border crises. It will also provide some relief to so-called frontline countries, whose national borders form the external borders of the Union and who must evidently bear the brunt of new arrivals. These nations have thus been the most vocal in their support of migration reform to reduce the perceived inequalities with regards specifically to the distribution of migrants across the 27 member states. The “Screening Regulation” envisions a 5-day screening procedure to be imposed on all people on the move who enter the territory of the Union irregularly. During the course of this procedure, national authorities will collect biometric information and perform security and vulnerability checks. This preliminary inspection of the migrant’s profile will, in theory, allow for more accurate decision making as the asylum process continues. The data collected will be stored in the European Dactyloscopy database, which is used to keep track of and verify the identity of those who submit asylum requests. The prospects of this regulation in light of the constantly shifting migratory fluxes remain grim. However, the amount of time allowed for the procedure (extended to 10 days in the event of a “massive influx”) is more likely to lead to an increase in time spent in detention centers, waiting for a screening, rather than a well-functioning procedure. Furthermore, the fast-tracked procedure casts doubt on the ability of officials to correctly determine vulnerabilities or security risks and provide the necessary support. Alarmingly, all screening procedures will take place under what is called the “legal fiction of non-entry,” which establishes a difference between the physical border and the legal one. While they may have crossed the physical border, migrants are not considered to have entered the territory of the Member State until their presence is established and validated by a border official, which is the end-result of the screening procedure. As a result, they have crossed the ‘legal border’ and can now be considered as within the territory of the European Union. The European Council on Refugees and Exiles comments that in practice, this creates a transitory space of diminished protections, where Member States can potentially derogate from ensuring the rights that they would otherwise be compelled to if the migrant were to be inside their territory legally. This space is essential for the increased efficiency of border procedures, as it is the part of the justification used to impose limitations on movement, such as in detention centers, and increased observation on migrants. After undergoing the screening procedure, migrants seeking asylum will be directed to one of two channels: normal asylum procedures, or the newly-introduced accelerated procedures, also termed border procedures. The border procedure applies to those applicants who are perceived to present more of a risk – those who have provided incorrect personal information, or that come from countries from which more than 20 percent of asylum applications were rejected. These asylum seekers may be detained for a period of up to 12 weeks, after which authorities will be granted a further 12 weeks to deport applicants in case of a rejection. In the common case where returning the migrant is not possible in this timeframe, the return regulation allows for up to 6 months of detention pending an impending deportation. The allowance for this extended period of detention would see migrants spend months in detention facilities and closed camps, which have until now proved to be ill-equipped to manage even their current load: inadequate access to shelter, food, and water are constantly reported at camps including in the frontline country of Greece. The border procedure also takes place within the context of the aforementioned legal fiction: access to free legal aid, usually taking the form of further explanation of the asylum procedure and work on the potential and viability of appeal procedures, is not guaranteed by the pact, and the filing of an appeal does not inhibit the return procedure. This means that a person could be deported outside of the country while the appeal to a rejection is actively being processed. The border procedure, then, creates a hierarchy among asylum-seekers, based on not only their actual and potential behavior but immutable characteristics such as ethnicity. It risks generalizing the nationals of a particular nation to such an extent that the asylum procedure, meant to provide protection to the vulnerable, loses meaning and effectiveness. The legislation introduced for the benefit of frontline countries is one of forced solidarity: when a frontline country declares itself to be in a state of migratory crisis, other member states must either relocate some migrants to their own territories or provide monetary support to the country undergoing the crisis. Tellingly, the European Commission has continuously stressed that payments made to the “solidarity pool” (which amount to 20, 000 euros per individual migrant) will exclude member states from having to relocate migrants to their own territory. There is no proposed guidance for the apportionment of the money, and thus no guarantee that it would be spent on bettering the experience of asylum seekers rather than strengthening border control mechanisms which would only serve to keep more people out. The single most contentious segment of the pact is the proposed Crisis Regulation. This regulation, which comes into effect only during a “migratory crisis” or a major unforeseen event, allows member states to derogate from standard asylum procedures. The length of border procedures, and thus the length of potential detention, could be extended by a period of 8 weeks, and parameters for directing asylum seekers to the border procedure could be loosened. The terms which form the cornerstone of this part of the regulation, crisis and force majeure, are not clearly defined. This leads to a situation where member states are incentivised to adopt a loose definition of crisis in order to more effectively create optimal conditions for their own goals, thus normalizing derogation from European Union law as a valid response to events that may or may not be considered “emergencies.” Non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International have strongly criticized the pact, with Director of the European Union office, Eva Geddie, commenting that “This agreement risks leaving people stranded, detained or destitute along Europe’s borders and will do nothing to improve the protection of asylum seekers in the EU.” in response to an agreement on the crisis regulation reached in October, while Human Rights Watch has stated that the pact will do nothing but increase suffering at the borders. In the European parliament, the Left party has consistently advocated centering the rights of asylum seekers, with member of parliament, Cornelia Ernst, referring to the pact as “making a bad situation orders of magnitude worse.” The European Commission's New Pact on Asylum and Migration, aimed at resolving long standing disputes, faces significant criticism for its proposed border procedure changes. Concerns about potential human rights erosion, disproportionate practices, and procedural complexities persist. As negotiations near completion, the pact's impact on the rights and well-being of asylum seekers remains a contentious issue, drawing attention from both NGOs and within the European Parliament. The coming months will reveal whether these concerns are addressed in any meaningful way or if the pact proceeds despite the raised objections.

< Back The New EU Commission and its Implications Stanimir Stoyanov December 31, 2024 December marks the beginning of a new five-year mandate of the European Commission. In June 2024, Europeans headed to the polls to elect their representatives in the European Parliament, tasked with voting in a new European Commission. On Nov. 27 Members of the European Parliament voted in a new Commission headed by Ursula von der Leyen. As the executive branch of the European Union, the Commission is one of the most important political bodies in the world. Despite its critical role, it remains relatively unfamiliar to the general public. So, this prompts the question, why is the European Commission important? The power of the European Commission The European Commission holds the majority of executive power within the EU. Its functions are to propose legislation based on parliamentary resolutions, enforce EU Regulations and manage the Union’s day-to-day affairs. Put simply, it steers the ship, which carries around 450 million citizens from 27 member states. The Commission's main jurisdiction is regarding trade agreements and environmental policies, which are considered collective European efforts. The Commission's decisions are detrimental on both the European and global stage. It is even responsible for the small things in our everyday lives, such as bottle caps being attached to plastic bottles or Apple being forced to change its charging cables to the universal Type-C. With political instability prevalent in many member states, more significantly in France and Germany, the Commission holds an increasingly important role in European unity. The New European Commission The Commission comprises one member for each of the 27 member states, including six Executive Vice-Presidents. Following this year's EU elections, the European Parliament faced the task of selecting a new Commission President. On July 18, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected to continue her presidency. Despite a Parliament with more left-leaning MEPs than before, von der Leyen secured her position, albeit with a narrower margin of approval compared to her first term. Meanwhile, the Commission she proposed in November reflected a noticeable shift toward the center-right, with strong representation from the European People’s Party and other conservative groups, echoing the political turbulence seen across EU member states. However, the composition of her new team reflects both continuity and change, with a reshuffled College of Commissioners aiming to tackle pressing issues such as digital transformation, climate policy and industrial competitiveness. These are the new Collage’s six Executive Vice-Presidents, each overseeing critical policy areas: Teresa Ribera Rodríguez (Spain) – Leading the EU's Green Deal efforts for a just and competitive transition. Henna Virkkunen (Finland) – Focused on digital sovereignty and technological innovation. Stéphane Séjourné (France) – Tasked with revitalizing European industry and the single market. Roxana Mînzatu (Romania) – Overseeing education, skills, and social policies. Raffaele Fitto (Italy) – Managing cohesion policy and regional development. Kaja Kallas (Estonia) – Serving as Vice-President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs Prospects and implications of the new European Commission Before being voted in as President of the new Commission, Ursula von der Leyen addressed the European Parliament, outlining her plans and goals for the next five years. Her key priorities include advancing climate neutrality targets, promoting technological sovereignty and strengthening the EU’s influence on the global stage. A central theme of her speech was the Commission’s firm stance against Russia, bolstered by strong critics like former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, now serving as High Representative for Foreign Affairs. This is a continuation of current EU politics when it comes to dealing with Russia, with an even tougher emphasis on support for Ukraine. The Commission also aims to bolster the EU's defense sector by increasing spending and investments. The task of delicately balancing economic growth with environmental commitments has been entrusted to France’s Stéphane Séjourné and Spain’s Teresa Ribera Rodríguez. In addition, the EU is working to achieve greater economic independence, particularly in light of proposed tariffs from the incoming U.S. president. This reflects a broader effort to reduce reliance on external actors for innovation and economic stability. Additionally, von der Leyen has proposed stricter migration policies, emphasizing increased deportation measures, following demands from many national governments for a tougher EU-wide stance on the matter. Is it really a “new” Commission? Some have voiced critical opinions of the new Commission, arguing that it represents more continuity than change. The approach of appealing to a wide political spectrum by providing broad and vague commitments has led to concerns that the Commission’s agenda lacks the required innovation to tackle emerging challenges effectively. This Commission was voted in with the lowest level of support ever, which is raising concerns about political stability on the European level. While such factors, coupled with the same President’s face suggest a continuation of existing policies, the College choices hint at a lean to the right in European politics. We are now at the beginning of the new 2024-2029 European Union mandate, with the future being as uncertain as ever, the new Commission has the important task of representing the European people and fulfilling its duties faced by both internal and external hardships. While its plans appear promising on paper, only time will reveal whether it can achieve its ambitious goals. What is clear, however, is that during a time of deep polarization within Member States, the Commission plays a vital role in maintaining cohesion among Europeans while advancing the EU’s global ambitions.

< Back An Ode To Menton: Notes From the Edge of France Maria Eirini Liodi Moving to Menton has been a crazy journey (to say the least), most akin to a fever dream. Living in l a perle de la France looks a little like this: swarmed by tourists in-season, and then left mostly empty for the rest of the ye ar, minus the retirees, bored teens and of course a bustling couple of hundred Sciences Pistes. I wanted to write this little article, partly for myself, partly for Sciences Pistes (old and new) and partly for Menton. As we 2As prepare for our departure, I wonder what my biased memory will frame my time in Menton to be. Is living in the Côte D’Azur really as luxe as Instagram stories sell-it to be? This is my little reflection to remember the highs and the lows while they're still fresh in my memory. Here are ten lessons (from the 100s) from Menton: 1. Small town life Living in a quaint little French town is cute and memorable. Small town gossip, also very real. With the windows open in an apartment overlooking Rue Longue, all sorts of news reverberates in the silence, and any tea you may be spilling will likely be overheard by your (probably also student) neighbors. As reflected in last month’s article on the romantic realities of this little town—the pool of young people in Menton is saturated—welcoming boredom, hence gossip, messy love triangles, and well, situationships you can’t escape when walking home from Carrefour. An additional plus is bumping into peers whose texts you haven’t responded to in days on your way to the gym… Love when that happens! 2. 5’ away Small town life isn’t all bad. Especially for those living in the vielle ville, rolling out of bed and into class within minutes has never been easier. I haven’t taken for granted that it is not the norm to live three minutes from campus and at most a five to ten minute walk from your friends. It’ll be difficult transitioning to a long-distance friendship routine where time differences and Google Calendar invites replace the daily: “I’ll be there in 5!” Also, I can’t skip the perks of proximity when it comes to our uni group chat—texting in the “Sciences Po Menton Communities 2024/2025” on Whatsapp to ask for virtually anything—to borrow a baking tray, a screwdriver, glue stick or someone to come over and kill a spider and actually getting a response? A rare and beautiful thing in my book. 3. Three countries in a day Being based in Menton comes with the bonus of casually crossing into another country after a 2km leisurely stroll by the beach in one direction and hopping on a train 10’ in the other direction into another. So, croissants in France, pizza in Italy and dinner in Monaco—100% doable. While cool, this reality also reveals deeper contradictions. Just a few hundred meters away from the glamor of Mirazur, you have borders that are open for some and violently closed for others—a harsh reminder of the uneven freedom of movement that defines the region. 4. Twelve km from ‘paradise’ to poverty Working with Sciences Po Refugee Help has been an important wake up call to the harsh humanitarian crisis at the Franco-Italian border, bringing me close to scenes that don’t make it into travel blogs and insta stories. The border, just minutes away from Menton’s colorful skyline and overpriced restaurants, is the site of daily pushbacks, systemic neglect and abandoned hopes. Studying refugee law in parallel made things even more jarring. While political rhetoric in Europe often speaks in ideologically-charged extremes of ‘illegal’ immigrants, the reality is far more nuanced. Refugee camp closures post-COVID have resulted in even harsher conditions for people on the move, with many sleeping under bridges and relying on food from local organizations offering support. The securitization rhetoric of politics often distorts, what is at the core, a much more complex, human story. 5. Multilingualism Arabic, Spanish, Italian, French, Greek, English, Hebrew, Turkish—just a few of the languages you’ll hear on an average day while walking out of class. I’ve never been in a consistently multilingual and multicultural environment like that of Sciences Po Menton. Conversations blend between languages, cultural references overlap and slowly your world expands without you realizing it. If any place has taught me about different cultures, perspectives and ideas, it’s been this campus. 6. 365 sunsets by the beach Living by the beach is so cool. Simple. Bad days, post-midterm cries, or existential breakdowns are a whole lot more poetic when you're sitting by the beach, gazing at the glistening water of the Mediterranean with the sublime backdrop of the Italian mountains. Problems don’t disappear, but perhaps feel slightly more manageable with the sound of the ocean in the distance. 7. The French uni system is hardcore Should I have been more mentally prepared coming to Sciences Po Menton? Probably. Transitioning from an Anglo-Saxon education system to a blend of the French system rigor and a more Western-interdisciplinary approach has been a process for sure. Unlike the typical Anglo-Saxon approach, attendance is strictly mandatory with little margin of error. No lecture recordings, limited extensions, and regular 8-10 hour work days that make the live, laugh, love mindset a little more challenging to embody. Has it made me more resilient, organized and better at working under (a lot of pressure)? Yes. Has my Google Calendar looked like an overflowing rainbow with minimal blanks? Also, yes. Would I do it again? 100% Being booked and busy is the Menton student default, but so is balancing multiple extracurriculars for fun, Thursday Retro nights, culture days and jam sessions! Work-hard play-hard as they say. 8. Fake it till you make it? When I came to Menton I told myself that I wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone, but not merely in the academic domain. I started performing (singing!) live for the first time, became the head of the music club and worked with so many talented musicians. I took tango classes, explored international security, met professionals and heads of states, made my case for the CROUS scholarship in broken French, and spoke on national TV through a student initiative that brought me back home to Cyprus (Babel!). My time here was one of many firsts—a place of gentle chaos and a small, often comforting community that welcomed my trials, failures, experimentation and growth. 9. The grass is always greener on the other side If you go back to my first article of the semester (an interview with our director, Mr Halaoua) there’s a section where we discuss the ‘unlucky’ nature of not having as many opportunities as students based in Sciences Po Paris when talking about conferences, networking events, career fairs etc. His response was that the essence of the grass is always greener on the other side. Honestly, he wasn’t wrong. Sure there are the pros of being on a bigger campus in a capital, but every place has its pros and cons. At Menton I’ve attended a series of incredible events—conferences on Palestine, anti-Semitism, Gulf economies, international security, and more. For all those dreaming of escaping the anonymity of the city, or the individualism plaguing modern capitalist metropoles, studying in a little French town isn’t all soft girl era and sunset journaling . Don’t get me wrong, it has been an absolute blessing to live here, however small town life has also felt limiting, constraining and a little boring at times. Menton taught me that even the prettiest places hold an ugliness within them. Ultimately, it is up to us what we make of it. 10. French boulangeries are elite With the recent I don’t wanna be French meme (insert Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’) taking the internet by storm, I want to focus on the unequivocally incredible things I’ll miss when I leave France. French boulangeries. The effortless chic of carrying a baguette in your tote. The joy of a fresh croissant in the morning. The delight of moules frites paired with a local white wine—pretty awesome if you ask me. Say what you want, but this part of French life? Iconic. I’ll miss it dearly. Menton, thank you for being the birth of my love-hate relationship with France, which as I depart is leaning more towards love <3 Cheers to Mitron’s supreme medialunas (top tip: go before 10:30am as they usually sell out), O Recife ’s iconic coffees and Sciences Po’s insane schedule (and honorable mentions to Narev’s for being the gym all of Sciences Po suddenly goes to when summer’s around the corner, Vulcano for bearing with our crowding outside for take-away pizza and of course, Demontis for bringing the most delicious ice-cream I have ever tried to this little town). It’s been an unforgettable ride. À bientôt! Photo source: Maria Eirini Liodi Previous Next

Sport is key for every individual. It constitutes an integral part of human life. Essentially, it keeps us fit and sane while reinforcing mental and physical strength. Biologically, it keeps our prominent organs alert and in turn the heart becomes stronger when it is met by regular exercise. Serving as a tool to help build the character and personality of a person. Sports have gained priority in all aspects of life while uniting the people. < Back Sports as a Way of Life By Joudi Arafa November 29, 2021 Sport is key for every individual. It constitutes an integral part of human life. Essentially, it keeps us fit and sane while reinforcing mental and physical strength. Biologically, it keeps our prominent organs alert and in turn the heart becomes stronger when it is met by regular exercise. Serving as a tool to help build the character and personality of a person. Sports have gained priority in all aspects of life while uniting the people. What can be learned from Sports? Sports bring utility. Notably, they establish discipline in life as they teach the fundamentals of communication, mobility, hard work, fairness etc. Psychologically, sport advances a human's thinking ability and decreases the stress of mind. It teaches control of emotions; the essence of staying focused in attaining discipline. Consequently, how does one attain their desired levels of discipline to reach a desired goal? First and foremost, it is essential to highlight the value of discipline in shaping determination and mindset. Discipline is a crucial foundation for any sport, and also a major aspect to succeed and dominate in other areas of life, especially in one’s career. As mentioned, it assists in achieving a certain mindset towards realizing great things. Another angle that can be taken when stating the lessons learned from sports is leadership skills. Even without being the captain of the football team, all teammates gain leadership skills. Sports always encourage people to strive to be the best that they can be, acting as a role model in their surroundings. Undoubtedly, physical activity is a core mental skill because it impacts other parts of our lives, like school and relationships with family and friends. It acts as an opportunity to build self-confidence, by embracing getting along with all kinds of people. Being a part of a group is motivating by itself; there is a group energy that occurs when people come together to take part in the same fun event. To sum up, discipline and focus are just two of the life skills that sports can illustrate; responsibility, goal-setting and working within a group are all equally beneficial and vital when recognizing sports and physical activity as pillars of leading a happy healthy life. Technology in sports The world of sport is perpetually changing over the years, and the use of technology is just one area that has made an impact on many sports in the modern day. Nowadays, technology plays a significant role in sports, and its use is indeed growing significantly. Advanced technology has become more resilient and less burdensome over this last decade, paving the way for new opportunities. Athletes currently wear sensors that portray real-time information to a trainer’s tablet, a GPS that precisely pinpoints motion, and wearable tech that prevents injuries. Compared to whiteboards and post-practice reviews, technology has substantially increased athletic potential. Take, for instance, swimmers and divers who participate in an extremely technical sport and have adapted the use of sensors into their usual practices. When swimming or diving, sensors measure more than the usual time and effort metrics. They map movements like rotational speed, dive angle, leg movement and hydrodynamics. Observing movements like those listed is groundbreaking, and allows trainers to help athletes further perfect their movements. Remarkably, they may only shave milliseconds off a performance, but a millisecond in a race can make all the difference needed to secure that desired gold medal! Importance of sports for students life As mentioned, sports have a massive positive impact on both the mind and body. It is therefore imperative to assess the various benefits that a student will gain from engaging in sports activities while also attending class. One can not deny how much sports aid in the overall development and growth of a student when effectively balanced with academia. While engaging in sports activities may seem to deduct time from studying, research has shown that more active students have better cognitive abilities. Sports along with other physical activities are beneficial to the brain, which allows students to remember or understand consistently what they read. In turn, it also increases competence when planning, creating strategies, and building team work, all of which are vital skills to have when being part of society. Development from sport goes beyond learning new physical skills. Sport helps students develop better ways to cope with the highs and lows of life. Constructive use of time and discipline is a major characteristic of any sportsperson. If a student plays sports, they need to demonstrate commitment of time, to be in a particular place at a particular time every day as a part of their routine. Simply put, participating in sports encourages a mindset towards practice, growth, and improvement: principles that encourage students to also hold academically. Becoming better at a sport results in self satisfaction, and sports are an excellent way to experience tangible improvement. From improving social skills to teaching self-esteem and personal resilience, sports can instill lifelong values for students that reach far past the classroom. With that being said, let’s hear what students from our Sciences Po campus had to say when asked about staying active: Carolina MOHR, 18yrs What sport do you play? “Soccer” Why is physical activity important for you? “Mental health, specifically for focus and I also just generally feel better because of endorphins.” Samanéa Rousseau, 18yrs What sport do you play? “I did competitive swimming for 12 years and eventing in horse-riding for 10.” Why is physical activity important for you? “I liked the idea of pushing myself to see where it takes me. I liked the outcome of mixing sports and people- it brought me amazing teammates, made me travel, encounter people and places I would not have otherwise. It taught me how important connections between people are. Those people picked me up when I was at my lowest and also pushed me to do my best. Go try new things, meet people; those things will teach you a bundle of values about life that you don't even know you need. I wish it to everyone, don't be scared to make the leap because you have nothing to lose.” Lena Westlund, 18yrs What sport do you play? “Boxing” Why is physical activity important for you? “Beneficial for physical and mental health.” David Ederberg, 21yrs What sport do you play? “For most of my life I’ve been doing Krav Maga, here in Menton I mostly play Volley- and Basketball. But I also like going running and doing different workouts to stay fit.” Why is physical activity important for you? “For me, being physically active is the perfect way to clear my mind, gain new energy and to be able to better focus and concentrate on school work. I love it when after a workout you know that you really challenged yourself and accomplished something - it's the best feeling ever.”

< Back Schengen: Border(less)? Stanimir Stoyanov In the year 1985, in the small town of Schengen, Luxembourg, the concept of a borderless Europe was born . 40 years later, the Schengen Area encompasses 29 European countries, guaranteeing freedom of movement to nearly 450 million people. If you were to explain this idea to a person living in the era of the Iron Curtain, they would probably see it as unrealistic humor. But does Schengen truly live up to this utopic practice? Rising concerns about national security are now testing Schengen’s limits. What is the current reality of a borderless Europe and is it truly borderless? The two sides of Schengen In its current situation, Schengen can be described as a two-sided coin. On one side, January 2025 saw the introduction of Bulgaria and Romania into the visa-free zone. On the other hand, countries around Europe reintroduced border control in response to rising anti-immigration sentiments. After years of striving for membership, on January 1, Romania and Bulgaria celebrated full accession into Schengen. Both countries have external borders with non-Schengen states, which is why, despite meeting the Schengen acquis criteria as early as 2011, their full membership has been repeatedly delayed due to concerns over corruption, rule of law and border security. Beginning in 2022, the Netherlands and Austria blocked the accession process, citing fears of increased irregular migration and weaknesses in the judicial systems of both countries. In 2024 the debate coincided with elections in Austria and the Netherlands, where in both cases migration was a crucial topic. Both of the countries lifted their objections following their elections. At the same time, there has been a wave of Schengen members who have recently temporarily reintroduced border control. The Schengen Agreement officially allows for such exceptions due to national and public security concerns. Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Norway, Sweden and Finland began temporary control on their borders throughout the last months of 2024, with some of them persisting up until today. Most people might not relate to this being an issue yet, since air travel has not been affected. I personally have had to experience this situation when driving from my home country, Bulgaria, to Menton, France. I would expect that after entering Croatia through Serbia, I would not face any further border delays. Arriving at the Slovenian border, I was baffled to see a long queue of trucks waiting on the side of the road. Even though Schengen has abolished borders between its members, the structures of the past checkpoints remain so they can be reinstated quickly if needed. At the Croatia-Slovenia border, there were border guards and police stopping each vehicle and checking their documents. The same happens when entering Italy. On the highway border crossing, there is an improvised checkpoint with police tents where you have to stop and wait for your documentation to be checked. I was also asked to provide information about my destination and purpose of travel, even having to explain my field of study. There have been pledges that the checks will be conducted less frequently, and in most cases, not every vehicle is stopped. Most often it is foreign registration plates arousing suspicion that are pulled over. The Menton border experience Living in Menton gives us Sciences Pistes the unique experience of having a first-hand look at the beauty of the Schengen area. It allows us to make use of the often cheaper Italian prices of goods, such as groceries and tobacco. When going to the nearest city, Ventimiglia, most people take the train where enforcement has been increased and travelers are often checked on the train or when exiting the train stations. Overall, most do not experience any trouble when commuting by train, but when it comes to crossing the border by car, the situation is different. Right after going into Italy, there is a supermarket and tobacco store, which I frequent quite often. When passing the border on the Italian side there is no issue, but when it comes to the French side there is always police. Each vehicle has to stop at the checkpoint, where most are just told to continue, but some are stopped to have their documents checked and sometimes their cars searched. While individual cross-border shopping for cheaper goods like cigarettes remains common and legal within set limits, the presence of organized smuggling networks has prompted authorities to maintain vigilant border controls. For example, this cross-border activity isn't limited to individual consumers. The region has also been a hotspot for organized cigarette smuggling. In January 2025, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office dismantled an international smuggling network operating in Italy and France. The group concealed up to 800 kg of cigarettes in food shipments from North Africa into Italy, using falsified documents to mislead customs officials. Some of these smuggled cigarettes were transported to the French Riviera. #GO2025 The attitude of the European Union towards the topic is dual-sided. This can be illustrated with this year’s European Capital of Culture and the #GO2025 campaign that goes with it. This year's capital of culture has very symbolic connotations, the chosen city/ies of Gorizia, Italy and Nova Gorica, Slovenia tell the inspirational story of two communities once divided. Following significant border augmentations after the two world wars, the people of the town ended up on two sides of the Iron Curtain. With Slovenia’s accession into Schengen in 2007, the border was completely demolished and division became a remnant of a past full of struggle. I was fortunate enough to attend the opening ceremony of the 2025 Capital of Culture. The personal testimonies I heard showcased the importance of reconciliation. A foreign student, studying at the university in Nova Gorica remarked: “Today was the best day of my life. Seeing people from both sides of the border partying together. Back in my home country we argue which side of the border has a deeper dump.” At the same time, crossing the border within the town, the border checkpoints now stand again. While not technically fenced off, police checkpoints operate, with cars not registered in one of the two towns, often being checked. It is exhilarating to see people from different linguistic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds coexisting in a cross-border community, but it also seems that current challenges are being put under the rug. So, will Schengen endure in its current form, or will more exceptions gradually erode its foundations? The answer lies not just in policy decisions in Brussels but in the daily reality on the ground in places such as our little lemon town. In cities like Menton, Nova Gorica and many others, border guards, migrants and residents navigate the complex intersection of law, politics and human rights. The aforementioned border(less) experiences act as a litmus test to the Schengen concept and it is up to the people to prove its resilience. Photo credits: bobbsled on Flickr Previous Next